THE   FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 


THE  FRIGATE 

CONSTITUTION 

THE  CENTRAL  FIGURE  OF  THE 
NAVY  UNDER  SAIL 


BY 


IRA  N.  HOLLIS 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 


1900 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,   BY   IRA  N.   IIOLLIS 
ALL    RIGHTS   RESERVED 


PREFACE 

THE  history  of  the  Frigate  Constitution  is  un 
dertaken  in  order  to  bring  within  the  pages  of  one 
volume  all  the  events  which  go  to  make  a  long  and 
interesting  career  upon  the  sea.  It  is  the  outgrowth 
of  a  short  article  for  the  "  Atlantic  Monthly  "  to 
commemorate  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
vessel's  launch.  She  has  so  long  been  a  favorite 
topic  for  storytellers  and  writers  that  nothing  new 
remains  to  be  told.  It  is  rather  a  case  for  recall 
ing  much  that  has  been  forgotten.  As  the  forma 
tion  and  service  of  the  sailing  navy  supply  the 
background  which  brings  our  ship  into  stronger 
perspective,  all  the  circumstances  which  had  an  in 
fluence  upon  her  design,  construction,  and  employ 
ment  are  given.  While,  therefore,  in  no  sense  a 
history  of  the  Navy,  it  forms  a  reasonably  con 
nected  narrative  of  naval  events,  and  particularly 
of  our  good  old  frigate.  The  principal  authorities 
for  the  whole  career  of  the  Constitution  are  the 
American  State  Papers,  the  ship's  logbooks,  the 
reports  of  commanding  officers,  and  various  naval 


262548 


iv  PREFACE 

biographies.  Cooper's  "  History  of  the  Navy," 
Goldsborough's  "Naval  Chronicle,"  Roosevelt's 
"  History  of  the  War  of  1812,"  and  several  admi 
rable  articles  by  Mr.  J.  R.  Soley  have  been  con 
sulted  and  used.  It  hardly  seems  necessary  to 
acknowledge  indebtedness  for  tales  and  minor 
details  which  have  been  common  property  for  half 
a  century.  This  volume  was  prepared  during  the 
summer  of  the  Spanish  War,  when  the  writer 
watched  with  pride  and  solicitude  the  service  of 
his  former  comrades  who  have  worthily  main 
tained  the  traditions  of  the  Old  Navy.  With  the 
hope  of  making  clearer  the  relation  of  the  sailor 
to  the  country  and  of  stimulating  the  interest  in 
rebuilding  the  ship,  it  is  now  given  to  the  public. 

IRA  N.  HOLLIS. 
CAMBRIDGE,  September  19,  1900. 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I.   INTRODUCTION  —  FRIGATES  AS  THE  CRUISERS  OF 

THE  SAILING  NAVIES 1 

II.  THE    ESTABLISHMENT    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES 

NAVY 24 

III.  DESCRIPTION,  ARMAMENT,  AND  CREW  OF  THE  CON 

STITUTION    34 

IV.  CONSTRUCTION  AND  FIRST  SERVICE  OF  THE  CON 

STITUTION    47 

V.  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI  —  EDWARD  PREBLE  ....  71 
VI.   CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI  —  SER 
VICE  IN  THE  MEDITERRANEAN 93 

VII.  OUTBREAK  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1812 121 

VIII.   ESCAPE  OF  THE   CONSTITUTION  FROM  A  BRITISH 

SQUADRON 141 

IX.   DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  FRIGATE  GUERRIERE      .    .  156 
X.  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  JAVA  —  CRUISE  UNDER  STEW 
ART      177 

XI.   CAPTURE  OF  THE  CYANE  AND  LEVANT    ....  196 
XII.  CRUISES  AND  INCIDENTS  SUBSEQUENT  TO  THE  WAR 

OF  1812 .  216 

XIII.  WHAT  WE  OWE  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION                   .  241 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION.  After  the  painting  by  Mar 
shall  Johnson,  published  and  copyrighted  in  1896  by  A. 
W.  Elson  &  Co.,  Boston Frontispiece 

A  SLOOP-OF-WAR.     From  Miles's  Epitome 4 

BRITISH  LINE-OF-BATTLE-SHIP.  From  Fincham's  History 
of  Naval  Architecture 10 

ORDNANCE  OF  1800 20 

•    Brass  howitzer  captured  from  Tripoli,  now  in  Annapolis. 

From  Maclay's  History  of  the  Navy. 
Long  Gun.     From  Lloyd  and  Hadcock's  Gunnery. 
Carronade  from  the  Constitution.     From  Spear's  History 
of  our  Navy. 

DECK-PLAN  OF  A  SHIP  ON  STARBOARD  TACK 23 

GUN-DRILL  ON  BOARD  SHIP 30 

Training.     From  Jerningham's  Ships'  Broadsides. 
Firing.     From  Robinson's  British  Fleet. 

SECTIONS  OF  WAR- VESSELS 38 

Sloop-of-War.     From  Roosevelt's  The  Naval  War  of  1812. 
Frigate.      From    Charnock's   History    of    Marine    Archi 
tecture. 

THE  MODEL  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION.  From  a  photograph 
copyrighted  in  1897  by  Martha  H.  Harvey.  The  model 
was  given  by  Commodore  Hull  in  1813  to  the  Museum  of 
Peabody  Academy  of  Sciences,  Salem,  Mass 44 

SAIL-PLAN  OF  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION,  1817.  By  per 
mission  of  "  The  Rudder "  .  .  52 


viii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

THE  CONSTITUTION  READY  FOB  LAUNCHING.  From  a  photo 
graph  58 

THE  LAUNCHING  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION.  From  a  photo 
graph  64 

WILLIAM  BAINBRIDGE.     After  the  painting  by  J.  W.  Jarvis    72 
EDWARD   PREBLE.     After  the   painting   in   Faneuil   Hall, 

Boston 80 

MEDITERRANEAN  PORTS 87 

INTERIOR  OF  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION,  1900    ....    88 
Ward-Room. 
Gun-Deck. 
Berth-Deck. 

The  above  three  illustrations  are  from  photographs  from 
the  Bureau  of  Construction  and  Repair,  Navy  Depart 
ment,  Washington. 

TRIPOLI  HARBOR 97 

ATTACK  ON  FORTIFICATIONS  AND  GUNBOATS  AT  TRIPOLI. 
From  the  painting  at  the  U.  S.  Naval  Academy,  Annapolis, 

Md 100 

MEDAL  VOTED  BY  CONGRESS  TO  COMMODORE  EDWARD 
PREBLE,  TO  COMMEMORATE  THE  NAVAL  OPERATIONS 
AGAINST  TRIPOLI.  From  Loubat's  Medallic  History  of  the 

United  States 108 

TRIPOLI  FORTIFICATIONS.  From  a  sketch  by  Henry  Wads- 
worth,  in  possession  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  F.  Wells  .  .  .  .111 

MAN-OF-WAR  KETCH.    From  Old  Sea- Wings 113 

CORSAIR.     From  Spear's  United  States  Navy 119 

CHARLES   MORRIS.      From   the   original    painting  by  Ary 

Scheffer 130 

ISAAC  HULL.  From  the  painting  in  the  rooms  of  the  Bos- 
tonian  Society,  Old  State  House,  Boston,  owned  by  Parker 

C.  Chandler,  Esq 140 

LOCATION  OF  BATTLES  BETWEEN  THE  CONSTITUTION  AND 
BRITISH  FRIGATES,  AND  THE  ESCAPES  FROM  PURSUING 
FLEETS 14$ 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  ix 

ESCAPE  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  OFF  THE  NEW  JERSEY 
COAST.  After  a  painting1.  A  photograph  is  in  the  Ward- 
Room  of  the  Frigate  Constitution 148 

CONSTITUTION  APPROACHING  THE  GUERRIERE  BEFORE  THE 
ACTION.  From  the  painting  at  the  U.  S.  Naval  Academy, 
Annapolis,  Md 156 

DIAGRAM  OF  ACTION  BETWEEN  THE  CONSTITUTION  AND 
THE  GUERRLERE 159 

HANDING  UP  POWDER.     From  Douglas's  Naval  Gunnery     .  161 

ACTION  BETWEEN  THE  CONSTITUTION  AND  THE  GuERRIERE. 

From  the  original  painting  by  Marshall  Johnson,  in  posses 
sion  of  Benjamin  F.  Stevens,  Esq 162 

ACTION  BETWEEN  THE  CONSTITUTION  AND  THE  GuERRIERE 

(the  end).  From  the  painting  at  the  U.  S.  Naval  Academy, 
Annapolis,  Md 170 

MEDAL  VOTED  BY  CONGRESS  TO  CAPTAIN  ISAAC  HULL,  TO 
COMMEMORATE  THE  CAPTURE  OF  THE  GUERRIERE.  From 
Loubat's  Medallic  History  of  the  United  States  ....  174 

DIAGRAM  OF  ACTION  BETWEEN  THE  CONSTITUTION  AND 
THE  JAVA 179 

ACTION  BETWEEN  THE  CONSTITUTION    AND  THE  JAVA  (after 

one  hour) 186 

ESCAPE  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  INTO  MARBLEHEAD  HARBOR  191 

ACTION   BETWEEN   THE  CONSTITUTION  AND  THE  JAVA  (near 

the  end).  From  an  engraving  in  the  Rooms  of  the  Military 
Historical  Society  of  Massachusetts. 

The  above  two  pictures  were  drawn  and  etched  by  Pocock 
from  sketches  by  Lieutenant  Buchanan,  and  dedicated 
by  permission  to  the  Right  Honorable  The  Lords  Com 
missioners  of  the  Admiralty 194 

MEDAL  VOTED  BY  CONGRESS  TO  CAPTAIN  WILLIAM  BAIN- 
BRIDGE,  TO  COMMEMORATE   THE  CAPTURE   OF  THE  JAVA. 
From  Loubat's  Medallic  History  of  the  United  States    .     .  198 
DIAGRAM  OF  ACTION  BETWEEN  THE   CONSTITUTION  AND 
THE  CYANE  AND  LEVANT    .  .  199 


x  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

CHARLES  STEWART.  From  the  painting-  in  U.  S.  Naval 
Academy,  Annapolis,  Md. 204 

DIAGRAM  OF  THE  ESCAPE  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  FROM 
BRITISH  FLEET  AT  PORT  PRAYA 211 

MEDAL  VOTED  BY  CONGRESS  TO  CHARLKS  STEWART,  TO  COM 
MEMORATE  THE  CAPTURE  OF  THE  CYANE  AND  LEVANT. 
From  Loubat's  Medallic  History  of  the  United  States  .  .  214 

FIGUREHEADS  OF  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 222 

Andrew  Jackson,  and  a  Billet,  at  Naval  Academy,  Annapo 
lis,  Md. 

THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION  AT  THE  BOSTON  NAVY  YARD, 
1900  (stern  view) 232 

GUN-DECK  OF  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION,  1900  ....  236 

FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION  AT  THE  BOSTON  NAVY  YARD,  1900 

(bow  view) t  240 

The  above  three  illustrations  are  from  photographs  from 
the  Bureau  of  Construction  and  Repair,  Navy  Depart 
ment,  Washington. 

THE  CONSTITUTION  IN  A  GALE  OFF  THE  ISLAND  OF  TRISTAN 
D'ACUNHA.  From  the  painting-  by  Marshall  Johnson,  in 
the  possession  of  Benjamin  F.  Stevens,  Esq 248 


THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION — FRIGATES   AS   THE    CRUISERS    OF 
THE    SAILING   NAVIES 

THE  events  connected  with  the  life  of  a  nation 
are  often  intimately  associated  with  objects  and 
places.  These  have  a  permanent  value,  preserv 
ing  for  us,  if  we  do  not  neglect  them,  the  out 
ward  semblance  they  presented  to  the  men  and 
women  who  gave  them  their  places  in  history.  The 
importance  of  Bunker  Hill,  of  Independence  Hall, 
and,  more  recently,  of  Gettysburg,  as  sources  of 
inspiration  to  the  youth  of  this  republic  can  hardly 
be  overestimated.  They  express  the  true  spirit  of 
liberty  and  the  love  of  country  even  better  than 
the  noblest  writings.  Among  the  objects  that 
must  always  be  dear  to  the  American  people  is  the 
old  ship  Constitution,  now  lying  neglected  under 
a  temporary  roof  at  the  Boston  Navy  Yard.  Her 
career,  outside  of  its  historic  value,  is  eventful  and 


V  \ , ;         JHE  ;  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

romantic.      No  ship  has  ever  seen  more  life  and 
action. 

The  first  twenty  years  of  her  existence  were  filled 
with  events  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  new 
nation  formed  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  She 
came  at  a  period  when  we  sorely  needed  a  strong 
arm  to  vindicate  for  the  second  time  our  right  to 
independence  and  to  the  untrammeled  development 
of  our  own  institutions.  Her  victories  did  much 
to  teach  a  few  scattered  colonies,  or  states,  respect 
for  themselves  and  faith  in  their  own  united 
strength.  Perhaps  more  than  all  else  she  stands 
to-day  for  the  freedom  of  the  seas.  Around  her 
are  woven  the  memories  of  our  great  sailors,  many 
of  whom  obtained  their  early  training  upon  her 
decks.  Her  history  is  almost  a  history  of  the 
Navy  during  its  most  critical  period,  and  she  has 
survived  to  us  the  heirloom  of  a  glorious  past, 
which  cannot  be  forgotten  so  long  as  her  wooden 
walls  stand  firm.  She  holds  a  place  as  a  repre 
sentative  of  the  days  of  sails,  and  is  one  of  the 
finest  examples  of  the  wooden  frigate  at  its  best. 
As  a  type  in  marine  warfare  her  class  was  the 
flower  of  the  sailing  period ;  and  although  sails 
were  soon  to  be  superseded,  there  was  still  time 
for  her  victories  to  work  great  changes  in  European 
navies.  Her  model  and  armament  were  copied  by 
England  before  the  War  of  1812  had  closed,  as  it 


FRIGATES  AS   CRUISERS  3 

was  imperative  to  build  something  that  could  over 
take  and  destroy  her.  In  her  day,  the  organization 
of  men  to  manoeuvre  and  fight  ships  had  reached  a 
high  state  of  perfection.  It  is  probable  that  we 
shall  never  find  crews  better  adapted  by  nature  to 
contend  with  the  sea,  or  better  fitted  by  training 
to  carry  their  ships  into  distant  seas  and  fight 
them,  than  were  the  seamen  on  the  decks  of  the  old 
Constitution.  Soon  after  she  was  launched,  experi 
ments  on  the  steam  propulsion  of  vessels  demon 
strated  the  power  of  the  steam-engine,  and  the 
first  voyage  of  the  Clerfhont  inaugurated  changes 
which  have  taken  place  with  increasing  rapidity, 
and  have  relegated  the  armed  sailing-vessel  to  a  past 
already  growing  hazy  to  the  young  men  of  the  Navy. 
In  another  generation  there  will  be  few  of  them 
who  have  ever  served  on  a  sailing-ship,  except 
for  a  short  time  by  way  of  practice.  This  story  is 
written,  therefore,  with  the  hope  of  keeping  alive 
the  interest  in  our  old  ships  and  in  the  sailors 
who  contributed  with  their  lives  to  the  welfare  of 
their  country.  It  has  been  written  and  rewritten 
in  naval  histories,  too  often  simply  as  a  chronicle 
of  triumphs  calculated  to  exalt  American  pride. 
While  her  victories  were  real,  their  influence  upon 
the  march  of  events  was  moral,  and  they  gather 
their  greatest  value  from  the  lessons  they  have 
taught.  The  events  of  the  early  history  of  the 


4  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

Navy  are  so  closely  interwoven  that  it  becomes 
difficult  to  select  from  many  things  only  those 
which  have  a  direct  bearing  upon  the  career  of  the 
Constitution.  The  line  is,  therefore,  not  closely 
drawn,  in  order  that  the  conditions  under  which 
her  work  was  done  may  be  clearly  understood. 

The  sailing-frigates  occupied  in  the  old  navies 
much  the  same  place  as  the  cruisers  of  modern 
times.  They  were  what  Nelson  called  "  the  eyes 
of  the  fleet,"  and  often  served  as  scouts  to  watch 
the  movements  of  the  enemy.  Before  the  inven 
tion  of  the  telegraph  and  the  steam-engine,  cam 
paigns  were  relatively  much  longer.  The  where 
abouts  of  a  ship,  or  of  a  fleet,  could  not  always 
be  ascertained  during  the  course  of  a  reasonable 
cruise ;  and  even  when  positively  known,  a  hos 
tile  meeting  might  be  indefinitely  postponed  by 
adverse  winds.  Two  fleets  might  dodge  each  other 
for  months.  Fast  frigates  formed  the  natural  look 
outs  and  auxiliaries  in  fleet  service.  They  were 
sent  out  to  bring  back  to  an  appointed  rendezvous 
all  the  information  that  could  be  secured  by  scour 
ing  the  seas  and  speaking  every  merchant-vessel 
brought  within  hail.  To  increase  effectiveness  in 
this  service,  the  hulls  of  frigates  were  made  large 
enough  to  carry  a  great  spread  of  canvas,  and  the 
lines  were  drawn  relatively  fine,  so  that  they  could 
outsail  anything  afloat.  They  also  carried  batteries 


FRIGATES  AS  CRUISERS  5 

capable  of  destroying  all  armed  craft  except  line- 
of-battle-ships.  As  commerce-destroyers  they  were 
very  useful. 

At  the  time  the  Constitution  was  built,  three 
classes  of  ships  formed  the  bulk  of  most  navies, 
—  sloops,  frigates,  and  line-of -battle-ships.  They 
usually  carried  three  masts  with  square  sails,  and 
were  distinguished  by  the  number  of  decks  hav 
ing  complete  batteries,  although  the  nomenclature 
was  not  always  applied  alike  by  different  writers, 
and  the  rating  was  not  a  reliable  indication  of  a 
ship's  power.  The  term  "  sloop  "  had  a  technical 
meaning  when  applied  to  armed  vessels.  In  ordi 
nary  use,  it  signified  a  single-masted  fore-and-aft- 
rigged  vessel  carrying  a  jib ;  but  in  the  Navy  the 
name  was  also  applied  to  vessels  with  all  their  guns 
on  the  upper  deck.  A  brig,  or  a  schooner,  might 
belong  to  this  class  by  virtue  of  carrying  the  guns 
on  one  deck.  At  the  beginning  of  the  century  a 
sloop-of-war,  or  corvette,  mounted  from  eighteen 
to  thirty  guns  on  the  spar-deck;  sometimes  with 
part  of  the  battery  on  a  raised  quarter-deck  and 
forecastle.  The  Levant,  captured  by  the  Constitu 
tion  in  1815,  was  a  typical  sloop.  She  had  on  a 
single  deck  eighteen  32-pound  carronades,  two  long 
9-pounders,  and  one  shifting  12-pounder.  This 
battery  is  characteristic,  and  indicates  the  usual 
armament  of  the  sloop  in  the  old  navies. 


6  THE   FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

The  frigate  was  always  ship-rigged,  and  carried 
guns  on  two  decks,  the  main  or  gun-deck  having 
a  complete  battery,  and  the  upper  or  spar-deck 
having  guns  only  on  the  forward  and  after  parts. 
The  waists  seldom  mounted  any  guns.  At  first 
the  power  of  a  frigate  was  correctly  indicated  by 
the  number  of  guns,  as  a  thirty-six,  or  a  forty-four 
gun  ship ;  but  after  the  invention  of  the  carronade 
much  confusion  arose,  as  many  guns  were  added  to 
ships  without  change  in  their  classification.  The 
old  batteries  were  usually  from  twenty-six  to  thirty 
long  18-pounders  on  the  gun-deck,  and  from  six 
to  twelve  long  guns  of  lighter  calibre  on  the  upper 
deck.  The  size  and  shape  of  the  hull  precluded  a 
heavy  battery  on  the  spar-deck,  on  account  of  top- 
heaviness  and  consequent  danger  of  capsizing. 
The  introduction  of  the  carronade  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century  supplied  the  Navy 
with  large-calibre  guns  weighing  very  much  less 
than  the  old  guns.  They  were  not  so  effective  at 
long  ranges,  but  they  quickly  replaced  long  guns 
oh  the  tipper  decks  of  frigates,  wholly  or  in  part ; 
and,  in  most  cases,  ports  were  cut  to  mount  addi 
tional  carronades.  Thus  a  thirty-eight-gun  frigate 
often  carried  forty-nine  guns,  and  all  classes  of 
vessels  had  from  eight  to  twelve  more  guns  than 
they  rated.  The  gun-deck  battery  remained  prac 
tically  the  same,  with  some  increase  in  weight  after 
the  experience  with  the  American  frigates. 


FRIGATES  AS   CRUISERS  7 

Line -of -battle -ships,  as  their  name  indicates, 
were  intended  to  take  the  shock  of  battle  between 
fleets.  They  carried  guns  on  three  or  more  decks. 
Two  of  these  decks  had  full  batteries,  usually  of 
thirty  long  guns,  and  carronades  were  placed  on 
the  quarter-deck  and  the  forecastle.  The  smallest 
line-of-battle-ship  was  so  vastly  superior  to  an 
ordinary  frigate  that  a  captain  in  command  of  the 
latter  was  entirely  justified  in  declining  an  action 
with  the  former.  It  was  easy  to  escape,  as  the  line- 
of-battle-ship  was  heavy  and  clumsy  under  sail. 
Nor  was  there  any  discredit  in  surrendering  a 
sloop  to  a  frigate,  as  few  commanders  would  risk 
the  lives  of  their  men  in  so  unequal  a  contest. 
The  nomenclature  was  often  misleading,  however, 
as  vessels  in  the  same  class  varied  greatly  in  power. 
At  one  end  of  the  scale  there  were  frigates  carrying 
thirty-four  guns,  which  fired  a  broadside  of  four 
hundred  and  fifty-four  pounds,  as  opposed,  at  the 
other  end,  to  frigates  delivering  from  seven  to  eight 
hundred  pounds  in  one  broadside.  Similar  state 
ments  apply  to  sloops  and  line-of-battle-ships. 
Modern  types  differ  almost  as  much,  and  the  term 
"  cruiser,"  nowadays,  includes  vessels  of  vastly  dif 
ferent  power  and  speed.  Yet  commanding  officers 
of  the  old  Navy  felt  a  certain  obligation  to  fight 
ships  of  their  own  rating,  and  were  sometimes 
beaten  by  being  outclassed.  Some  of  the  English 


8  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

writers  complained  bitterly  that  we  had  deceived 
them  at  the  outset  of  the  War  of  1812,  because  our 
frigates  were  superior  to  theirs,  forgetting  that  the 
term  "  frigate  "  was  a  very  elastic  one,  and  referred 
only  to  the  method  of  placing  the  guns. 

In  comparing  the  actual  sizes  of  ships,  arbitrary 
rules  for  measuring  tonnage  were  adopted  by  dif 
ferent  governments.  The  first  law  of  Congress 
was  taken  from  the  merchant-service,  which  aimed 
mainly  at  the  cargo-carrying  capacity.  The  rule 
is  given  here,  although  somewhat  technical,  to 
show  that  the  tonnage  had  no  fixed  relation  to 
the  displacement  of  a  ship.  "Measure  from  the 
fore  part  of  the  main  stem  to  the  after  part  of 
the  stern  post  above  the  upper  deck;  take  the 
breadth  thereof  at  the  broadest  part  above  the 
main  wales,  one  half  of  which  breadth  shall  be 
counted  the  depth ;  deduct  from  the  length  three 
fifths  of  such  breadth ;  multiplying  the  remain 
der  by  the  breadth  and  the  product  by  the 
depth ;  divide  by  95 :  the  quotient  is  the  tonnage." 
The  English  had  a  similar  rule,  which  gave  a 
smaller  result  than  ours  by  fully  fifteen  per  cent. 
Even  had  the  tonnage  worked  out  the  same  for 
two  different  ships  by  either  rule,  the  contents 
would  not  necessarily  have  been  alike,  on  account 
of  a  difference  in  the  lines.  No  reliance  can  be 
placed  on  comparisons  based  upon  the  earlier  meas- 


FRIGATES  AS  CRUISERS  9 

urements,  but  a  later  act  of  Congress  placed  the 
whole  subject  on  a  better  footing.  Fortunately, 
the  question  of  tonnage  was  of  very  little  impor 
tance  in  actual  warfare  except  that  it  gave  a  rough 
idea  of  the  space  for  handling  guns,  berthing  the 
crew,  and  storing  provisions,  ammunition,  and 
water. 

The  guns  were  mounted  in  crude  wooden  car 
riages  formed  by  two  brackets  or  sides  joined  to 
gether  at  the  ends  by  crosspieces  called  transoms. 
They  were  elevated  and  depressed  by  means  of 
handspikes  placed  under  the  breech,  which  always 
had  preponderance  over  the  muzzle,  and  a  wedge 
served  to  hold  the  gun  at  the  proper  elevation. 
The  same  handspikes  were  also  used  in  training  the 
gun  horizontally  forward  and  aft  with  the  aid  of 
side-tackles.  Breech-ropes  secured  to  eye-bolts  in 
the  hull  passed  through  a  jaw  in  the  rear  end  of 
the  gun  to  limit  the  recoil ;  and  several  tackles 
served  for  hauling  out  or  holding  the  gun  in  any 
position  on  deck.  The  rolling  and  pitching  of  a 
ship  in  a  seaway  immensely  complicated  the  pro 
blem  of  loading  and  aiming,  and  the  selection  of 
the  proper  moment  for  firing  demanded  great  judg 
ment.  During  the  discharge,  the  gun  and  carriage 
were  thrown  violently  inboard,  and,  if  the  inclina 
tion  of  the  deck  happened  to  assist  the  recoil, 
there  was  danger  of  pulling  out  the  bolts  which 


10  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

held  the  ropes  and  tackles.  A  heavy  gun  broken 
loose  from  its  fastenings  during  action  was  likely 
to  prove  an  ugly  customer  in  a  seaway  ;  more  dan 
gerous,  perhaps,  than  the  batteries  of  an  enemy. 
This  accident  was  by  no  means  uncommon.  It 
occurred  a  number  of  times  on  English  frigates, 
and  was  usually  credited  to  decayed  timbers. 

During  the  War  of  1812,  the  British  had  no 
regulated  sights  for  their  guns,  and  they  suffered 
by  comparison  with  the  Americans,  who  were  clever 
enough  to  provide  fair  substitutes  for  the  modern 
sight-bar.  In  some  cases  tubes  were  placed  along 
the  tops  of  the  guns,  with  adjustments  for  various 
elevations  or  distances.  The  height  of  the  decks 
above  water  level  also  had  an  important  bearing 
upon  the  fighting  qualities  of  a  ship.  Other  things 
being  equal,  the  vessel  with  the  higher  decks  had 
the  advantage  in  a  rough  sea.  Cases  have  been 
known  where  line-of-battle-ships  could  not  use 
their  lower-deck  guns  at  all,  thus  reducing  them 
practically  to  frigates  in  power.  In  the  battle 
between  the  Wasp  and  the  Frolic,  the  former 
rolled  her  lee  sides  to  the  muzzles  of  the  guns.  It 
was  therefore  important  in  construction  to  place 
the  decks  as  far  as  practicable  above  the  water 
line,  and  to  design  the  ships  with  special  reference 
to  a  steady  gun-platform.  As  will  be  seen,  the 
American  frigates  were  superior  to  the  British  in 


FRIGATES  AS  CRUISERS  11 

th6se  respects  ship  for  ship,  until  the  latter  began 
to  improve  on  the  Constitution  class. 

When  a  sailing-vessel  went  into  action  she 
usually  carried  the  wind  abeam,  and  the  pressure 
on  the  sails  tended  to  steady  her,  but  it  gave  her  a 
list  to  leeward,  and  the  ship  to  windward  conse 
quently  rolled  deeply  towards  her  opponent  and 
exposed  her  decks  to  shot,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  ship  to  leeward  lifted  her  sides  high  out 
of  water  and  exposed  her  hull.  If  a  shot  pene 
trated  near  the  normal  water  line  and  the  com 
mander  found  it  expedient  to  tack,  he  immediately 
brought  the  hole  below  water  on  the  lee  side  and 
was  in  danger  of  filling.  Under  any  circumstances, 
men  were  called  away  from  their  duties  to  work 
the  pumps  or  to  plug  the  hole.  The  ship  to  wind 
ward  had  another  advantage.  The  slope  of  the 
deck  was  toward  the  target,  and  the  guns  were 
forced  to  slide  uphill  in  recoiling,  thus  lessening 
the  strain  on  the  tackles.  Another  consideration 
in  connection  with  the  windward  side,  or  the 
weather  gauge,  as  it  was  called,  related  to  choice 
of  time  and  position.  A  vessel  with  the  weather 
gauge  could  run  down  and  engage  her  antagonist 
at  any  time,  or  she  might  by  heading  to  windward 
postpone  action  to  a  favorable  moment.  When 
two  ships  approached  each  other  with  hostile  intent, 
their  commanders  usually  manoeuvred  for  advan- 


12  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

tage.  Each  tried  to  get  to  windward  of  the  other, 
and  to  reach  a  position  from  which  his  enemy  could 
be  raked  by  a  whole  broadside.  Raking  consisted 
in  placing  a  ship  at  right  angles  to  the  course  of  an 
other  vessel,  either  directly  astern  or  ahead  and 
firing  lengthwise  of  her  decks.  There  were  more 
chances  of  striking  the  masts  and  rigging  in  that 
position  than  when  training  across  an  enemy's 
deck.  The  ship  which  was  being  raked  had  the 
serious  disadvantage  of  being  able  to  bring  only  a 
few  bow  or  stern  guns  to  bear  upon  an  opponent. 
The  first  object  of  American  officers  seems  to  have 
been  to  cut  away  an  enemy's  masts  and  rigging, 
thus  enabling  them  to  take  a  raking  position. 

The  percussion  cap  was  not  invented  until  after 
the  War  of  1812.  Before  its  introduction  on  board 
ship,  guns  were  fired  by  means  of  a  flint  lock  or  a 
match.  In  the  latter  case,  the  powder  and  shot 
were  rammed  home  through  the  muzzle,  and  a  wire 
was  run  down  the  vent  to  pierce  the  powder  car 
tridge  ;  then  a  powder-horn  was  turned  into  the 
vent  and  a  train  laid.  When  the  moment  to  fire 
arrived,  the  train  was  lighted  by  the  match.  All  of 
this  required  time.  We  do  not  wonder,  therefore, 
that  American  officers  expected  to  expend  many 
shots  in  practice  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  the 
skill  to  obtain  one  hit  against  an  enemy.  Guns 
were  fired  preferably  in  broadside  instead  of  singly, 


FRIGATES  AS  CRUISERS  13 

and  the  battery  was  aimed  in  converging  lines  in 
order  to  concentrate  the  fire  as  much  as  possible. 
By  aiming  at  the  water  line  near  a  mast,  the  shot 
had  three  chances ;  if  too  low,  it  might  ricochet 
on  the  water  and  strike  the  hull ;  if  too  high,  it 
might  bring  down  a  mast  ;  while,  if  it  struck  the 
point  aimed  at,  the  hull  was  injured  in  a  vital  part. 
There  were  three  types  of  guns,  the  long  gun, 
the  carronade,  and  the  columbiad.  The  long  gun, 
which  had  been  in  use  for  several  centuries,  was 
cast  very  heavy.  Its  length  and  the  weight  of 
powder  charge  insured  the  maximum  range  and 
penetration  possible  at  that  time.  The  dimensions 
of  the  18  and  24-pounders  were  5^-f$  inches  and 
5  j^j  inches  in  bore  respectively,  and  upwards  of 
nine  or  nine  and  one  half  feet  in  length.  The 
powder  charge  was  not  far  from  six  pounds,  and 
the  range  with  an  elevation  of  one  degree  was 
about  six  hundred  yards.  On  account  of  their 
great  weight,  these  guns  were  placed  as  low  as  pos 
sible  in  the  ship.  The  carronade,  which  took  its 
name  from  the  town  of  Carron,  where  it  was  first 
made,  was  much  lighter.  A  32-pounder  had  a  bore 
of  6J  inches  and  a  length  of  four  feet,  and  the 
muzzle  was  cast  comparatively  thin.  The  charge 
of  powder  was  only  2J  pounds,  and  the  range  at 
an  elevation  of  one  degree  was  three  hundred  and 
eighty  yards.  The  effect  of  the  heavier  shot  was 


14  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

more  that  of  a  battering-ram,  and  it  was  used  at 
close  quarters  to  knock  in  the  sides  of  a  ship  rather 
than  to  penetrate.  The  lightness  of  this  gun  gave 
it  a  place  on  the  highest  deck,  where  it  did  not 
seriously  reduce  the  stability.  The  columbiad  was 
between  the  long  gun  and  the  carronade  in  size. 
As  there  is  no  record  of  its  use  on  the  Constitu 
tion  or  by  any  of  her  opponents  in  war,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  describe  it  here. 

The  different  types  of  guns  were  never  equiva 
lent  in  their  effects,  as  a  large  shot  fired  with  a 
low  velocity  might  have  the  same  energy  as  a  small 
shot  with  a  high  velocity  and  yet  produce  a  very 
different  result.  It  is  therefore  extremely  difficult 
to  compare  the  power  of  two  ships  unless  their  bat 
teries  were  composed  of  the  same  types  of  guns. 
The  long  gun  always  possessed  an  advantage  over 
the  others,  as  it  could  be  used  outside  of  the  range 
of  carronades  and  columbiads.  Besides  the  great 
advantage  of  being  able  to  cripple  an  antagonist 
before  coming  to  close  quarters,  a  ship  armed  with 
superior  long  guns  could  load  and  fire  more  delib 
erately.  On  the  other  hand,  the  carronade  could 
be  handled  more  quickly,  and  was  accounted  more 
available  at  short  range.  Mr.  Roosevelt,  in  his 
"  History  of  the  War  of  1812,"  says  that  a  long 
12-pounder,  an  18-pound  columbiad,  and  a  32-pound 
carronade  were  almost  equivalent  to  one  another. 


FRIGATES  AS  CRUISERS  15 

The  projectiles  in  common  use  were  solid  shot, 
shrapnel,  canister,  bar  shot,  and  chain  shot.  The 
weight  of  the  shot  was  not  accurately  given.  On 
account  of  the  spherical  shape,  it  was  purposely 
made  to  fit  loosely  in  the  gun,  so  that  imperfec 
tions  in  manufacture  could  not  cause  it  to  stick 
in  the  bore.  A  slight  variation  in  size  or  den 
sity  made  no  difference  ;  consequently  an  eighteen- 
pound  shot  might  weigh  nineteen  pounds  and  a 
twenty-four-pound  shot  only  twenty-three  pounds. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  good  ground  for 
believing  that  American  shot  was  usually  under 
weight,  and  that  French  shot  was  over  weight, 
while  the  English  were  commonly  accurate  in  their 
sizes  and  weights.  Explosive  shells  with  percus 
sion  fuses  did  not  come  in  until  long  after  the 
period  of  the  Constitution's  greatest  usefulness; 
nevertheless,  the  crews  often  suffered  severely  from 
flying  splinters.  A  heavy  shot  striking  a  timber, 
or  a  wooden  projection,  was  likely  to  shiver  it  and 
throw  pieces  in  all  directions.  The  gun-carriages 
themselves,  being  of  wood,  formed  a  great  element 
of  danger  if  struck. 

A  good  estimate  of  the  distance,  or  range,  was 
vital  to  success  unless  ships  were  within  pistol-shot 
of  each  other.  For  long  ranges,  the  shot  rose  high 
in  the  air  and  fell  at  a  plunging  angle  as  if  fired 
at  a  target  lying  horizontal,  and  it  was  therefore 


16  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

necessary  to  know  accurately  the  distance  of  this 
target.  There  were  several  methods  of  obtaining 
this  distance  by  the  help  of  a  sextant.  One  of 
them  depended  upon  knowing  the  height  of  the 
enemy's  masts  and  by  using  their  angular  elevation 
in  connection  with  a  mathematical  table.  Another 
method  consisted  in  treating  the  ship  as  the  base 
of  a  horizontal  triangle,  of  which  the  enemy  formed 
the  apex.  The  two  base  angles  were  measured 
simultaneously  and  the  triangle  constructed.  These 
measurements  were  so  crude  and  unsatisfactory  that 
an  engagement  almost  always  terminated  at  short 
range  where  the  exact  distance  was  unimportant. 
The  present  method  of  taking  the  angle  from  the 
horizon  down  to  the  water  line  of  a  target  and  find 
ing  the  distance  from  a  table  constructed  for  that 
purpose  did  not  become  common  in  the  Constitu 
tion's  day. 

As  ships  often  came  to  close  quarters  for  the 
purpose  of  fighting  their  battles  by  a  hand  to  hand 
encounter  on  deck,  the  crews  were  armed  with 
pistols  and  cutlasses.  These,  with  boarding-pikes 
placed  in  convenient  racks,  formed  the  best  weapons 
for  boarding  an  enemy,  or  for  repelling  boarders, 
when  attacked.  A  few  men  of  every  gun's  crew 
were  detailed  for  this  service,  and  they  were  called 
away  by  the  sound  of  a  large  rattle.  The  marines 
were  armed  with  muskets  and  stationed  in  places 


FRIGATES  AS  CRUISERS  17 

most  effective  for  picking  off  officers  and  men. 
Several  men  were  placed  in  every  top.  It  was 
from  a  ship's  top  that  Nelson  was  killed  at  Trafal 
gar,  and  that  Captain  Lambert  was  mortally 
wounded  in  the  action  between  the  Constitution 
and  the  Java. 

Ships  usually  went  into  action  under  topsails, 
topgallant-sails,  jib  and  spanker ;  the  courses,  the 
lowest  square  sails,  were  hauled  up,  and  the  light 
sails  overhead  were  furled.  Sometimes  the  topgal 
lant-sails  were  also  furled,  and  in  squally  weather 
the  heavy  sails  were  reefed.  The  clews,  or  lower 
corners  of  the  square  sails,  were  stopped  to  the 
yards  to  keep  the  sails  spread  in  case  the  sheets 
were  shot  away,  and  the  yards  were  hung  in  slings 
for  greater  security.  The  pumps  were  rigged  and 
every  precaution  was  taken  against  fire  and  water. 
Tubs  of  water  were  placed  in  the  channels,  and 
the  decks  were  thoroughly  wet  down  and  sanded  to 
make  the  footing  secure.  Ammunition  was  collected 
near  the  guns.  The  men  went  to  their  stations  at 
the  beat  of  a  drum,  a  certain  number  to  each  gun, 
and  a  few  to  look  after  the  general  management  of 
the  ship  under  sail.  The  members  of  the  guns' 
crews  were  numbered,  and  every  number  had  speci 
fied  duties  for  all  emergencies  that  might  arise. 
At  a  given  signal  certain  men  were  called  away 
from  the  guns  to  extinguish  fire,  to  trim  sails,  to 


18  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

repair  rigging  and  spars,  to  repel  boarders,  or  to 
board  another  ship,  depending  upon  the  demands 
of  the  occasion.  In  the  midst  of  a  scene  of  appar 
ently  indescribable  confusion,  there  was  really  the 
most  perfect  order,  as  every  man  in  a  crew  of  four 
or  five  hundred  knew  and  could  recite  his  duties 
for  every  contingency  of  ordinary  cruising  or 
action. 

Many  of  the  old  sailing-vessels  were  overcrowtlod, 
and  men  lived  almost  like  kenneled  dogs.  Each 
enlisted  man  had  only  twenty-two  inches  by  eight 
feet  of  deck  room  for  his  hammock,  and  that  on  an 
un ventilated  deck  near  the  water  line.  Air  could 
be  obtained  only  by  means  of  canvas  ducts,  or 
windsails,  hoisted  to  catch  the  passing  breeze. 
Some  commanders,  like  Captain  Porter,  permitted 
the  men  to  sleep  on  the  gun-deck,  and  thus  gave 
them  more  breathing-space,  but  this  practice  was 
not  prescried  by  the  navy  regulation.  The  officers 
had  bunks  in  the  after  part  of  the  ship,  where  there 
was  more  room,  but  even  they  must  have  suffered 
from  overcrowding.  The  quarters  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  Constitution  are  unventilated,  and  it 
would  seem  impossible  to  live  in  them  over  night ; 
yet  men  managed  to  occupy  them  and  to  enjoy  life 
on  board  ship.  Some  conception  of  the  limited 
space  for  the  crew  is  afforded  by  the  relative  dimen 
sions  of  the  Constitution  and  a  modern  battleship. 


FRIGATES  AS  CRUISERS  19 

The  crews  are  practically  the  same,  and  yet  the 
latter  is  five  times  the  size  of  the  former.  Even 
this  does  not  express  the  relative  comfort  in  the 
two  cases,  as  a  sailing-vessel  necessarily  remained 
at  sea  for  long  and  uncertain  periods,  and  the  men 
could  not  relieve  the  tedium  of  life  by  frequent 
outings  on  shore.  The  element  in  favor  of  the 
old  ships  was  the  absence  of  coal  and  steam. 

The  crews  often  suffered  from  disease,  scurvy 
being  not  at  all  uncommon.  The  record  of  the 
Constitution's  log  shows  a  daily  sick  list  varying 
from  eighteen  to  twenty-seven  out  of  a  crew  of 
four  hundred  and  sixty-eight  during  the  month 
preceding  the  action  with  the  Guerriere ;  and  on 
some  of  her  cruises,  the  sick  list  ran  up  into  alarm 
ing  numbers.  Bad  ventilation  and  salt  food  were 
not  alone  responsible.  Medical  science  was  in  its 
infancy,  and  the  surgeons  had  neither  the  means 
nor  the  skill  to  combat  diseases  now  easily  treated 
by  well-trained  physicians.  Then,  too,  they  were 
entirely  dependent  upon  water  from  the  shore, 
which  frequently  introduced  sickness  and  epidemics 
on  board  ship.  Few  can  realize  what  distilled 
water,  good  ventilation,  and  canned  meats  have 
done  for  the  sailors  of  our  day. 

In  the  United  States  Navy,  the  diet  was  not  un 
wholesome,  but  it  was  fearfully  monotonous  at  sea, 
where  all  provisions  were  dried  or  salted.  The 


20  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

ration  fixed  by  Congress  in  1801  for  each  man  is 
given  in  the  following  table  :  — 

Sunday.  —  1£  Ibs.  beef,  14  oz.  bread,  J  Ib.  flour,  £  Ib. 

suet,  J  pint  spirits. 
Monday.  —  1  Ib.  pork,  14  oz.  bread,  J  pint  peas,  ^ 

pint  spirits. 
Tuesday.  —  1  Ib.  beef,  14  oz.  bread,  2  oz.  cheese,  J 

pint  spirits. 
Wednesday.  —  1  Ib.  pork,  14  oz.  bread,  J  pint  rice, 

^  pint  spirits. 
Thursday.  — 1£  Ibs.  beef,  14  oz.  bread,  1  Ib.  flour,  £ 

Ib.  suet,  £  pint  spirits. 
Friday.  — 14  oz.  bread,  £  pint  rice,  4  oz.  cheese,  2 

oz.  butter,  £  pint  molasses,  ^  pint  spirits. 
Saturday.  —  1  Ib.  pork,  14  oz.  bread,  J  pint  peas,  \ 

pint  vinegar,  £  pint  spirits. 

Bread  and  spirits  appear  with  unfailing  regu 
larity,  the  one  usually  stale  and  the  other  always 
good.  Sometimes  in  port  the  men  got  fresh  pro 
visions  by  commuting  a  certain  number  of  rations 
to  be  paid  in  money.  They  were  often  able  to  lay 
in  potatoes  and  onions  for  themselves.  The  crew 
of  a  ship  were  divided  into  messes  with  from  eight 
to  twelve  men  in  each  mess  for  the  convenience  of 
supplying  them.  There  was  a  ship's  cook  for  all, 
and  one  boy  for  each  mess.  The  latter  drew  the 
provisions  from  the  purser  and  took  general  care 
of  the  outfits.  Their  lot  was  not  an  enviable  one 


Long  Cm 


Howitzer 


Carronacle 


ORDNANCE   OF  1800 


FRIGATES  AS   CRUISERS  21 

under  the  best  of  conditions.  Although  there  was 
much  sickness  and  many  deaths  at  sea,  it  was  pos 
sible,  as  Captain  Porter  demonstrated  in  the  Essex 
by  strict  regulation  as  to  diet  and  cleanliness,  to 
keep  a  crew  in  good  health  for  long  periods.  A 
sailor  required  in  those  days,  as  in  these,  as  much 
looking  after  as  a  child.  The  grog  question  did  not 
become  a  burning  one  until  later,  when,  fortunately 
for  the  Navy,  the  spirit  ration  was  abolished.  The 
Constitution  often  carried  six  months'  sea  stores, 
and,  as  the  amount  required  for  the  daily  issue  was 
about  twenty-eight  gallons,  the  cargo  of  whiskey 
placed  on  board  must  have  been  fully  one  hun 
dred  barrels.  It  formed  the  largest  single  item  of 
expense  for  the  stores  of  a  ship. 

There  was  a  great  difference  between  the  Amer 
ican  and  British  navies  in  the  treatment  of  men. 
"We  had  no  imprisonment  for  petty  offenses,  and 
our  system  of  punishments  was  more  humane. 
Flogging  was  limited  to  a  dozen  lashes  with  plain 
cat-o'-nine-tails.  Lord  Dundonald  says  of  the 
British  Navy,  "  No  man  acquainted  with  the  facts 
can  wonder  that  interminable  cruises,  prohibition 
to  land  in  port,  constant  confinement  without  salu 
tary  change  of  food  and  consequent  disease  endan 
gering  total  disability,  should  have  excited  disgust 
and  often  terror  of  a  sailor's  life."  We  had  no 
such  complaint  as  this ;  but,  nevertheless,  the  lot 


22  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

of  a  sailor  was  hard.  He  was  everybody's  slave  at 
sea  and  beneath  notice  on  shore,  as  he  really  was 
too  often  a  drunkard  and  a  ne'er-do-well.  Every 
generation  has  its  victims,  men  whose  lives  go  to 
the  service  of  others.  Jack  Tar  belongs  to  all 
generations,  and  his  emancipation  is  still  in  the 
future.  In  spite  of  all  the  drawbacks  of  service  in 
the  Old  Navy,  many  men  acquired  a  genuine  love 
for  the  seafaring  life  and  grew  attached  to  their 
ships.  There  was  enough  .change  and  adventure 
to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  most  sailors,  especially  in 
the  large  demands  made  upon  our  early  sailing- 
vessels.  Their  spirit  and  sense  of  humor  are  ex 
hibited  in  the  nicknames  given  to  their  guns,  ships, 
and,  sometimes,  to  their  officers. 

When  the  Navy  was  first  organized,  it  was  very 
difficult  to  enlist  sailors  of  American  birth.  Ships 
were  manned  largely  by  foreigners.  Notwithstand 
ing  the  lack  of  protection  offered  by  the  government 
to  our  merchant-ships  on  the  high  seas,  foreign 
commerce  was  so  profitable  as  to  draw  all  native 
born  seamen  into  the  merchant  -  service.  They 
could  get  higher  pay  there  than  in  the  Navy.  The 
consequence  was  the  enlisting  for  the  Navy  of  the 
flotsam  to  be  found  in  every  maritime  city.  For 
several  years  previous  to  1812  the  case  was  some 
what  different,  as  many  American  sailors  were 
driven  on  shore  by  the  embargo  and  the  imminence 


FRIGATES   AS  CRUISERS 


23 


of  war ;  so  that  there  was  no  scarcity  of  men  for 
the  service  when  the  war  broke  out.  A  large 
number  were  attracted,  no  doubt,  by  the  prospect  of 
prize  money.  The  Amer 
ican  sailor  was  handy  at 
all  kinds  of  work  —  a 
kind  of  Jack-of-all-trades. 
He  was  quick  at  repair 
ing  damages  to  his  ship, 
and  remarkably  apt  at 
gunnery.  The  nucleus  in 
every  ship  was  native  born 
in  its  commission  and  war 
rant  officers,  whose  dis 
cipline  and  instruction 
brought  even  mixed  crews 
to  a  high  state  of  efficien-  DECK  PLAN  OF  A  SHIP  ON 
cy.  It  is  said  that  Nel-  "ABBOABD  *ACK 

son  remarked  of  Commodore  Dale's  squadron  in 
the  Mediterranean,  "  There  is  in  the  handling  of 
those  transatlantic  ships  a  nucleus  of  trouble  for 
the  Navy  of  Great  Britain." 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    ESTABLISHMENT     OF     THE     UNITED    STATES 
NAVY 

THE  Revolutionary  War  left  the  country  in  a 
very  unsettled  condition.  It  was  impoverished  by 
the  long  struggle,  and  knew  imperfectly  how  to 
maintain  the  independence  which  it  had  spent  so 
much  blood  and  treasure  to  secure.  The  States  were 
still  colonies  with  only  loose  notions  of  cooperation, 
and  there  was  no  real  central  government  with 
power  and  money  to  provide  for  the  nation's  many 
wants.  Some  years  of  experience  with  no  govern 
ment  were  required  to  convince  the  colonies  of  the 
value  of  union  under  national  executive,  legisla 
tive,  and  judicial  heads.  In  this  state  of  affairs 
there  was  no  thought  of  dealing  adequately  with 
the  problem  of  national  defense,  still  less  with  that 
part  of  it  belonging  to  the  sea.  The  old  Continen 
tal  Navy,  or  what  was  left  of  it,  was  sold,  and  in 
the  fall  of  1785  not  an  armed  vessel  remained 
in  the  possession  of  the  united  colonies.  The  frig 
ate  Alliance,  which  had  seen  active  service  during 


ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  NAVY  25 

the  war,  was  the  last  to  go.  She  became  an  East 
Indiaman,  and  was  ultimately  wrecked  on  an  island 
in  the  Delaware.  The  America,  the  only  line-of- 
battle-ship  built  by  the  colonies,  was  presented  to 
Louis  XVI.  in  1782,  in  testimony  of  the  country's 
gratitude  for  his  generous  exertion  in  its  behalf 
and  to  replace  the  Magnifique,  a  74-gun  ship  lost 
in  the  harbor  of  Boston.  She  was  afterwards  cap 
tured  by  the  British.  As  every  colony,  or  State, 
had  its  own  custom-house,  and  to  a  large  extent 
made  its  own  revenue  and  navigation  laws,  several 
States  maintained  armed  vessels  for  defense  and 
revenue  service  ;  but  this  did  not  constitute  a  navy 
or  even  an  organized  force. 

The  Agent  of  Marine  summed  up  the  naval 
question  in  his  report  for  August,  1783.  He  wrote 
that  "  the  situation  of  the  public  treasury  renders 
it  not  advisable  to  purchase  ships  for  the  present, 
nor  until  the  several  States  shall  grant  such  funds 
for  the  construction  of  ships,  docks  and  naval 
arsenals,  and  for  the  support  of  the  naval  service, 
as  shall  enable  the  United  States  to  establish  their 
marine  upon  a  permanent  and  respectable  footing." 
As  a  result  of  this  report  the  State  of  Virginia  was 
authorized  by  Congress  to  arm  two  vessels  at  its 
own  expense.  Six  years  passed,  during  which  the 
Constitution  was  discussed  and  adopted  and  the 
United  States  came  into  actual  existence.  With 


26  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

the  internal  machinery  to  be  set  going,  the  exter 
nal  relations  became  a  source  of  grave  anxiety 
to  the  new  government.  Europe  was  on  the  eve 
of  a  great  upheaval,  in  which  despotic  power  as 
represented  by  Napoleon  was  to  engage  in  a  death 
struggle  with  the  real  democracy  for  which  England 
stood.  Allied  to  one  nation  by  blood  and  tradi 
tion,  and  under  obligation  to  the  other  for  comfort 
and  aid  in  adversity,  our  path  was  destined  to  be 
a  thorny  one  for  nearly  a  generation.  To  make  it 
more  painful,  we  were  forced  into  war  with  each  of 
these  great  powers  in  turn  through  sheer  inability 
to  maintain  neutrality  between  them.  The  domes 
tic  and  foreign  debt  pressed  so  heavily  that  the 
nation  was  obliged  to  submit  to  any  humiliation 
rather  than  to  spend  money  on  a  navy,  the  only  arm 
capable  of  earning  for  us  a  position  among  nations. 
To  add  to  the  bitterness  of  this  situation,  the  Bar- 
bary  powers  discovered  the  new  flag  upon  the  seas 
immediately  after  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Great 
Britain.  Two  ships  were  captured  just  outside  of  the 
Mediterranean  by  the  Algerine  corsairs  in  1785, 
and  their  crews  were  held  in  bondage.  There  was 
no  reason  for  this  attack  upon  our  commerce.  It 
was  a  clear  case  of  piracy.  The  country  rang  with 
cries  of  indignation,  but  we  were  powerless  to  exact 
reparation,  and  we  had  to  submit.  In  accordance 
with  the  well-established  practice  of  Christian 


ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE   NAVY  27 

nations,  we  embarked  on  the  fatal  policy  of  nego 
tiating  and  attempting  to  ransom  the  poor  cap 
tives  who  for  no  wrong  had  been  set  at  hard  labor. 
They  were  treated  in  all  respects  as  slaves  of  the 
Dey,  and  their  lot  was  indeed  sad.  Agents  were 
appointed  to  negotiate  and  treat,  with  authority 
to  offer  a  ransom  for  the  prisoners,  but  the  sum 
allowed  was  much  too  small.  The  Dey  demanded 
$59,496  for  twenty-one  men,  and  the  agents  de 
parted  without  having  accomplished  anything. 

In  1787,  the  American  minister  at  Paris  was 
authorized  to  place  the  business  in  the  hands  of  the 
Mathurins,  a  religious  order  formed  for  the  re 
demption  of  Christian  captives  from  the  Barbary 
pirates.  It  was  hoped  that  they  could  secure  the 
liberation  of  our  people  at  a  lower  rate.  The 
General  of  the  order  recommended  the  discontin 
uance  of  any  allowance  for  the  comfort  of  the  cap 
tives,  in  order  to  impress  upon  the  Algerines  the 
fact  that  nothing  much  could  be  expected  from 
the  United  States.  He  feared  that  by  paying  a 
large  amount  we  might  raise  the  market  value  of 
Americans  and  turn  the  pirates  against  our  ships  as 
the  greater  gain.  He  was  authorized  to  offer  $550 
a  man,  but  unfortunately  a  year  elapsed  before  the 
money  could  be  deposited  in  Paris  and  made  avail 
able.  In  the  mean  time  several  other  nations  had 
redeemed  a  number  of  slaves,  and  the  price  had 


28  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

gone  up,  so  that  t7)e  assistance  of  the  Mathurins 
proved  of  no  avail.  Five  years  passed,  and  our 
sailors  were  still  in  captivity,  made  even  more 
wretched  by  our  endeavors  to  rescue  them.  We 
had  cut  off  their  allowance,  and  we  were  still  hag 
gling  over  the  price  of  redemption. 

In  1790,  President  Washington  laid  before  Con 
gress  a  full  report  on  Algiers,  by  the  Secretary  of 
State,  in  order  that  they  might  provide  what 
seemed  most  expedient  on  behalf  of  our  citizens  in 
captivity.  It  is  astonishing  in  these  days  to  read 
so  mild  a  message  on  a  subject  so  burning.  Twenty- 
one  of  our  citizens  were  in  slavery  to  a  nest  of 
pirates,  and  yet  Congress  did  nothing.  We  made 
only  another  attempt  to  negotiate.  It  is  fair  to 
say  that  our  government  was  not  alone  in  its  weak, 
half-hearted  policy.  The  Christian  nations  of 
Europe  had  been  for  three  centuries,  more  or  less, 
under  tribute  to  the  corsairs  of  North  Africa,  and 
the  ports  of  Algiers,  Tunis,  and  Tripoli  were  often 
crowded  with  slaves  captured  from  the  coasts  of 
the  Mediterranean,  and  from  the  merchant-ships 
that  ventured  to  ply  its  waters.  From  time  to 
time  peace  was  bought  and  yearly  tribute  was 
agreed  upon.  Even  England,  Holland,  and  Russia 
were  parties  to  these  debasing  treaties.  There  was 
probably  at  the  bottom  of  this  system  of  tribute  a 
certain  amount  of  commercial  jealousy,  and  every 


raining 


Firing 


DRILL  AT    THE   GUNS 


ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  NAVY  29 

nation  was  likely  to  encourage  depredations  against 
its  neighbors.  By  paying  tribute  to  go  free  and 
keeping  the  Barbary  pirates  strong  enough  to  cap 
ture  the  ships  of  other  nations  an  enormous  advan 
tage  was  gained  to  a  selfish  power.  Thus  all  the 
governments  of  Europe  were  gradually  drawn  into 
secret  treaties,  whereas  a  united  front  would  have 
broken  up  the  whole  infamous  business.  The 
United  States  eventually  made  the  first  really  suc 
cessful  effort  to  shake  off  this  yoke  of  Christendom, 
and  the  power  of  the  corsairs  declined  from  the  time 
of  our  first  serious  campaign  against  them.  How 
this  war  in  which  the  Constitution  formed  the  cen 
tral  figure  came  about  will  be  told  in  connection 
with  the  resolutions  of  Congress  to  build  a  navy. 

In  1792,  the  President  suggested  a  plan  for 
concluding  a  treaty  of  peace  with  Algiers,  and  for 
obtaining  the  release  of  American  captives,  and 
it  was  approved.  The  sum  of  $40,000  was  to  be 
paid  for  the  captives,  $25,000  for  a  treaty,  and  an 
annual  tribute  of  $25,000.  After  some  delay  the 
negotiations  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  Colonel 
David  Humphreys,  our  minister  to  Portugal,  and 
they  might  have  been  successful  but  for  another 
unfortunate  occurrence.  Our  merchant-ships  were 
in  the  habit  of  collecting  at  Lisbon  and  entering 
the  Mediterranean  under  convoy  of  the  Portuguese, 
who  were  at  war  with  Algiers.  They  had  estab- 


30  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

lished  a  blockade  of  the  Straits  against  all  pirates, 
and  we  were  therefore  perfectly  secure  in  the  At 
lantic.  Before  Colonel  Humphreys  could  reach 
Algiers  a  truce  had  been  arranged  between  the 
Dey  and  Portugal,  which  let  the  fleet  of  the  former 
into  the  Atlantic  and  deprived  us  of  a  convoy. 
This  arrangement  was  made  by  the  English  consul 
without  consulting  Portugal.  The  latter  had  ex 
pressed  a  wish  for  the  friendly  cooperation  of  Eng 
land  in  securing  peace,  but  had  expected  ample 
time  to  warn  its  friends  that  they  could  no  longer 
receive  the  protection  of  Portuguese  convoy.  Eng 
land  was  accused  at  the  time  of  aiming  a  direct 
blow  at  the  growing  commerce  of  the  United  States 
by  letting  loose  the  pirates  against  us.  Whether 
this  was  true  or  not,  it  was  quite  in  line  with  the 
policy  of  Europe  and  the  policy  of  the  British  gov 
ernment  towards  us.  Treaties  with  other  nations 
left  our  ships  the  only  prey,  and  the  Dey  refused 
even  to  receive  Colonel  Humphreys.  "Let  the 
American  ambassador  take  care  how  he  comes 
here  under  the  protection  of  any  flag  whatever." 
He  declared  his  policy  in  a  few  words.  "  If  I 
were  to  make  peace  with  everybody,  what  should 
I  do  with  my  corsairs  ?  What  should  I  do  with 
my  soldiers  ?  They  would  take  off  my  head  for  the 
want  of  other  prizes,  not  being  able  to  live  on  their 
miserable  allowance." 


ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  NAVY  31 

In  October,  1793,  eight  Algerine  vessels  ap 
peared  in  the  Atlantic,  and  within  a  few  weeks 
they  had  captured  eleven  American  ships  and  106 
American  sailors.  It  is  no  wonder  that  our  consul 
writes  from  Lisbon,  "  Another  corsair  in  the  At 
lantic  :  God  preserve  us !  "  Captain  O'Brien,  one 
of  the  captives,  wrote  from  Algiers  in  December, 
1793,  explaining  the  great  danger  to  American 
shipping  if  a  fleet  of  swift-sailing  vessels  were  not 
fitted  out  at  once  for  their  protection.  He  also 
added  that  the  corsairs  of  Algiers  and  Tunis 
would  remain  masters  of  the  Western  Ocean,  and 
would  be  tempted  to  go  to  the  coast  of  the  United 
States.  A  petition  to  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  signed  by  the  masters  of  thirteen  vessels, 
accompanied  his  letter.  They  wrote  in  behalf  of 
109  prisoners,  whose  piteous  appeal  could  not  fail 
to  move  the  American  people.  The  petition  closed 
with  the  following :  "  Your  petitioners  pray  you 
will  take  their  unfortunate  situation  into  consider 
ation,  and  adopt  such  measures  as  will  restore  the 
American  captives  to  their  country,  their  friends, 
families  and  connections  ;  and  your  petitioners  will 
ever  pray  and  be  thankful."  Some  of  them  had 
prayed  during  eight  years  of  hard  labor. 

Yet  when  this  petition  with  all  the  facts  reached 
Congress  it  produced  only  a  small  majority  in 
favor  of  equipping  a  naval  force.  The  opposition 


32 


THE  FEtGATE   CONSTITUTION 


was  powerful  and  insistent.  There  was  no  idea  of 
forming  a  permanent  navy,  and  the  vessels  were 
finally  authorized  by  a  compromise  directing  the 
discontinuance  of  work  on  them  in  case  a  treaty 
should  be  arranged  before  their  completion.  The 
act  to  provide  a  naval  armament  was  approved  on 
March  27,  1794.  The  bill  as  passed  allowed  the 
President  the  option  of  building  four  ships  of  44 
guns  each,  and  two  ships  of  36  guns  each,  or  of  pro 
curing  an  equivalent  force  by  purchase.  Officers 
and  enlisted  men  were  also  provided  for. 

Although  President  Washington  had  not  given 
up  hope  of  a  treaty,  he  lost  no  time  in  proceeding 
with  the  six  ships.  There  was  no  Navy  Depart 
ment,  and  the  whole  subject  was  referred  to  Henry 
Knox,  the  Secretary  of  War,  who  consulted  several 
experienced  ship-builders  on  the  properties  and 
models  of  the  new  ships.  The  plans  of  Mr.  Joshua 
Humphreys,  a  well-known  ship-builder  of  Philadel 
phia,  were  accepted,  and  he  was  directed  to  prepare 
models  of  the  six  frigates  for  transmission  to 
various  places,  as  follows :  — 

.     .     44-gun  frigate 


Boston  .  . 
New  York  . 
Philadelphia 
Norfolk  .  . 
Baltimore 


36-gun 


Portsmouth,  N.  H.     " 


Constitution 

President 

United  States 

Chesapeake 

Constellation 

Congress 


ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  NAVY  33 

For  some  reason  the  battery  of  the  Chesapeake 
was  subsequently  changed  to  36  guns,  so  that  there 
were  three  of  each  class  built.  Mr.  Humphreys 
was  appointed  constructor  of  the  44-gun  ship  to  be 
built  at  Philadelphia.  Although  the  interest  in 
his  ships  is  now  mainly  sentimental  and  historical, 
the  considerations  which  led  to  the  adoption  of  his 
designs  are  worthy  of  more  extended  treatment. 
His  ideas,  with  but  slight  changes  of  expression, 
still  apply  in  the  modern  Navy.  A  separate  chap 
ter  will  therefore  be  given  to  the  American  frigate 
and  Mr.  Humphreys.  The  selection  of  Boston  for 
the  Constitution  was  a  happy  one,  both  on  account 
of  the  skill  of  the  New  England  ship-builders  and 
the  influence  which  she  was  destined  to  have  upon 
our  common  feeling  of  nationality.  Curiously 
enough,  the  Constitution,  the  Hartford,  and  the 
Merrimac,  participants  in  the  three  most  momen 
tous  naval  actions  of  our  histo'ry,  were  constructed 
at  Boston,  which  has  rarely  shown  a  lack  of  public 
spirit.  The  frigate  Adams  was  built  by  the  sub 
scription  of  her  citizens  in  1798  and  presented  to 
the  government. 


CHAPTER  III 

DESCRIPTION,   ARMAMENT,   AND   CREW   OF  THE 
CONSTITUTION 

WHEN  the  establishment  of  a  navy  was  discussed 
in  Congress,  the  nation  was  fortunate  in  having 
at  the  seat  of  government  a  naval  architect  of 
pronounced  views  and  of  considerable  experience. 
Joshua  Humphreys  had  early  turned  his  attention 
to  shipbuilding,  and  had  given  much  thought  to 
the  construction  of  armed  vessels  for  the  Navy. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  built  the  frigate  Ran 
dolph,  of  unhappy  memory,  and  later  superintended 
fitting  out  a  galley  and  several  other  ships  for  use 
in  the  Revolutionary  War.  When  the  agitation 
for  a  new  navy  began  in  the  latter  part  of  Wash 
ington's  first  administration,  Mr.  Humphreys  wrote 
to  Robert  Morris  on  the  subject.  The  strong  com 
mon  sense  of  his  letter,  which  is  here  reproduced, 
should  have  disposed  of  all  the  subsequent  con 
troversies  over  the  superiority  of  the  American 
frigates. 


DESCRIPTION,  ARMAMENT,   AND  CREW     35 

SOUTHWAKK,  Jan.  6,  1793. 
ROBERT  MORRIS,  ESQ.  : 

SIR,  —  From  the  present  appearance  of  affairs  I  be 
lieve  it  is  time  this  country  was  possessed  of  a  navy ; 
but  as  that  is  yet  to  be  raised,  I  have  ventured  a  few 
remarks  on  the  subject. 

Ships  that  compose  the  European  navys  are  generally 
distinguished  by  their  rates ;  but  as  the  situation  and 
depth  of  water  of  our  coasts  and  harbors  are  different 
in  some  degrees  from  those  in  Europe,  and  as  our  navy 
for  a  considerable  time  will  be  inferior  in  numbers,  we 
are  to  consider  what  size  ships  will  be  most  formidable, 
and  be  an  overmatch  for  those  of  an  enemy ;  such  frig 
ates  as  in  blowing  weather  would  be  an  overmatch  for 
double-deck  ships,  and  in  light  winds  to  evade  coming  to 
action ;  or  double-deck  ships  that  would  be  an  overmatch 
for  common  double-deck  ships,  and  in  blowing  weather 
superior  to  ships  of  three  decks,  or  in  calm  weather  or 
light  winds  to  outsail  them.  Ships  built  on  these  prin 
ciples  will  render  those  of  an  enemy  in  a  degree  useless, 
or  require  a  greater  number  before  they  dare  attack  our 
ships.  Frigates,  I  suppose,  will  be  the  first  object,  and 
none  ought  to  be  built  less  than  150  feet  keel,  to 
carry  twenty-eight  32-pounders  or  thirty  24-pounders 
on  the  gun  deck,  and  12-pounders  on  the  quarter-deck. 
These  ships  should  have  scantlings  equal  to  74's,  and  I 
believe  may  be  built  of  red  cedar  and  live  oak  for 
about  twenty-four  pounds  per  ton,  carpenters'  tonnage, 
including  carpenters',  smiths'  bill,  including  anchors, 
joiners,  block  makers,  mast  makers,  riggers  and  rigging, 


36  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

sail  makers  and  sail  cloths,  suits  and  chandlers'  bill. 
As  such  ships  will  cost  a  large  sum  of  money,  they 
should  be  built  of  the  best  materials  that  could  possibly 
be  procured.  The  beams  for  their  decks  should  be  of 
the  best  Carolina  pine,  and  the  lower  futtocks  and 
knees,  if  possible,  of  live  oak. 

The  greatest  care  should  be  taken  in  the  construction 
of  such  ships,  and  particularly  all  her  timbers  should  be 
framed  and  bolted  together  before  they  are  raised. 
Frigates  built  to  carry  12  and  18-pounders,  in  my 
opinion,  will  not  answer  the  expectation  contemplated 
from  them ;  for  if  we  should  be  obliged  to  take  a  part 
in  the  present  European  war,  or  at  a  future  day  we 
should  be  dragged  into  a  war  with  any  powers  of  the 
Old  Continent,  especially  Great  Britain,  they  having 
such  a  number  of  ships  of  that  size,  that  it  would  be  an 
equal  chance  by  equal  combat  that  we  lose  our  ships, 
and  more  particularly  from  the  Algerians,  who  have 
ships,  and  some  of  much  greater  force.  Several  ques 
tions  will  arise,  whether  one  large  or  two  small  frigates 
contribute  most  to  the  protection  of  our  trade,  or  which 
will  cost  the  least  sum  of  money,  or  whether  two  small 
ones  are  as  able  to  engage  a  double-deck  ship  as  one 
large  one.  For  my  part  I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  the 
large  ones  will  answer  best. 

(Signed)  JOSHUA  HUMPHREYS. 

Again  he  writes  :  — 

All  the  maritime  powers  of  Europe  being  possessed 
of  a  great  number  of  ships  of  the  first  size  contemplated, 


DESCRIPTION,   ARMAMENT,   AND   CREW    37 

and  the  Algerians  having  several,  and  considering  the 
small  number  of  ships  directed  to  be  built,  the  great 
necessity  of  constructing  those  ships  in  such  a  way  as  to 
render  them  less  liable  to  be  captured  and  more  capable 
of  rendering  great  services  to  the  United  States  accord- 
ing  to  their  number,  the  construction  and  sizes  of  frigates 
of  the  European  nations  were  resorted  to  and  their 
usefulness  carefully  considered.  It  was  determined  of 
importance  to  this  country  to  take  the  lead  in  a  class  of 
ships  not  in  use  in  Europe,  which  would  be  the  only 
means  of  making  our  little  navy  of  any  importance.  It 
would  oblige  other  Powers  to  follow  us  intact,  instead  of 
our  following  them  ;  considering  at  the  same  time  it  was 
not  impossible  we  should  be  brought  into  a  war  with 
some  of  the  European  nations ;  and  if  we  should  be  so 
engaged,  and  had  ships  of  equal  size  with  theirs,  for 
want  of  experience  and  discipline,  which  cannot  imme 
diately  be  expected,  in  an  engagement  we  should  not 
have  an  equal  chance,  and  probably  lose  our  ships. 
Ships  of  the  present  construction  have  everything  in 
their  favor ;  their  great  length  gives  them  the  advantage 
of  sailing,  which  is  an  object  of  the  first  magnitude. 
They  are  superior  to  any  European  frigate,  and  if 
others  should  be  in  company,  our  frigates  can  always 
lead  ahead  and  never  be  obliged  to  go  into  action,  but  on 
their  own  terms,  except  in  a  calm ;  in  blowing  weather 
our  ships  are  capable  of  engaging  to  advantage  double- 
deck  ships.  Those  reasons  weighed  down  all  objec 
tions. 


38  THE   FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

When  General  Knox  took  the  matter  up  in  the 
following  year  he  placed  the  designs  for  ships  in 
Mr.  Humphreys'  hands,  as  already  stated,  and  the 
latter's  ideas  were  carried  out  almost  to  the  letter. 
No  doubt  officers  who  had  served  in  the  Continen 
tal  Navy  gave  many  valuable  suggestions  as  to 
details.  The  hull  of  the  Constitution  was  modeled 
after  the  best  French  practice.  Her  lines  were 
fairly  fine,  and  the  upper  parts  of  the  sides  tumbled 
home  so  as  to  make  the  upper  deck  perceptibly 
narrower  than  the  gun-deck  below  it.  This  model 
was  thought  to  render  the  motion  in  a  seaway  less 
abrupt,  and  thus  an  easy  and  regular  roll  could 
afford  the  gunners  a  better  platform  from  which 
to  aim.  The  narrowing  of  the  deck  brought  the 
rigging  closer  to  the  mast,  and  permitted  the  yards 
to  be  braced  more  sharply  for  sailing  on  the 
wind.  The  Constitution's  general  qualities  were 
well  stated  in  Emmons'  "  Statistical  History  of 
the  United  States  Navy,"  published  in  1853.  "  Her 
log-book  to  1809  shows  a  speed  of  12J  knots  per 
hour,  going  free  under  topgallant-sails  ;  but  by 
common  report  she  enjoys  an  enviable  reputation 
which  has  no  doubt  been  enhanced  by  the  able 
manner  in  which  she  has  usually  been  commanded, 
and  the  good  fortune  that  has  always  attended 
her.  She  has  always  been  heavily  sparred,  and 
from  her  peculiar  build  (tumbling  in  above  water) 


Sloop-of-W 


SOL 


Frigate 


SECTIONS  OF  WAK-VESSELS 


DESCRIPTION,   ARMAMENT,   AND   CREW    39 

has  furnished  her  masts  less  angular  support  from 
her  shrouds  than  is  now  obtained  in  our  modern 
frigates.  The  latter  cause,  combined  with  sharp 
ness  of  vessel,  heavy  live  oak  frames,  heavy  battery 
and  too  much  ballast  (which  has  since  been  reduced 
to  seven  tons,  with  a  recommendation  from  her 
commander,  Captain  Percival,  that  this  also  be 
dispensed  with),  has  generally  rendered  her  weight 
an  uncomfortable  thing,  a  seaway  hard  on  her 
cables,  and  no  doubt  was  the  principal  cause  of 
her  laboring  so  much  as  to  roll  or  pitch  one  of  her 
long  24-pounders  out  of  her  forecastle  port."  In 
1851  her  commander  reports  that  she  "  works 
within  eleven  points  of  the  wind;  steers,  works, 
sails,  scuds,  and  lies-to  well ;  rolls  deep  and  easy, 
and  sailing  close-hauled  has  beaten  everything 
sailed  with." 

Her  dimensions  were  as  follows  :  Length  over 
all,  204  feet ;  length  on  load  water  line,  175  feet ; 
breadth  of  beam,  43.6  feet;  depth  of  hold,  14.3 
feet;  draught  forward,  21  feet;  draught  aft,  23 
feet.  She  sailed  best  at  this  trim.  Her  tonnage 
by  old  measurements  was  1576  ;  later  this  was 
changed  to  1607,  and  by  a  still  later  law  to  1335. 
Her  displacement  was  2200  tons.  She  carried  at 
first  about  140  tons  of  ballast,  which  proved  to  be 
too  much,  but  was  not  taken  out  until  many  years 
afterwards.  As  stated  above,  it  was  ultimately 


40  THE   FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

reduced  to  7  tons.  Her  tanks  held  48,600  gallons 
of  water,  and  the  hold  stowed  six  months'  provi 
sions  for  a  crew  of  475  men.  The  height  of  the 
gun-deck  port  sills  was  from  8  to  9  feet  above  the 
water  line.  For  purposes  of  comparison  the  fol 
lowing  dimensions  of  the  British  38-gun  frigates 
are  taken  from  James's  "  Naval  Occurrences  : " 
Length  over  all,  180.3  feet ;  length  on  load  water 
line,  154.5  feet ;  beam,  38.8  feet ;  depth  of  hold, 
13.5  feet.  It  will  be  seen  from  this  that  the 
Constitution  was  20  feet  longer  and  about  5  feet 
broader. 

With  uncommon  foresight  Mr.  Humphreys  made 
the  hull  frames,  the  planking,  and  the  masts  of  his 
ships  fully  equal  in  dimensions  to  those  in  a  line- 
of-battle-ship.  In  fact,  although  strictly  a  frigate- 
built  ship,  the  British  were  not  entirely  without 
reason  in  calling  the  Constitution  a  disguised  line- 
of -battle-ship.  She  did  correspond  somewhat  to  a 
razeed  seventy-four;  that  is,  a  three-decked  ship 
with  the  spar-deck  removed  and  guns  on  only  two 
decks.  The  first  act  of  the  British  government 
after  several  conflicts  between  the  American  and 
British  frigates  was  to  cut  down  some  of  their  line- 
of-battle-ships  in  order  to  overmatch  the  President 
and  the  Constitution  with  ships  of  their  own  rating. 
The  unusual  hardness  and  weight  of  the  timbers 
and  the  planking  in  the  Constitution  gave  her  the 


DESCRIPTION,  ARMAMENT,  AND  CREW     41 

name  of  "  Old  Ironsides."  The  greater  height  of 
the  guns  above  water  was  also  an  advantage.  She 
could  go  into  action  in  weather  which  rolled  the 
gun-ports  of  the  ordinary  frigate  and  line-of-battle- 
ship  under  water. 

Mr.  Humphreys'  design  of  the  masts,  yards, 
and  rigging  was  in  every  way  admirable.  The 
extra  beam  given  to  all  his  ships  afforded  a  better 
angle  in  staying  the  masts  to  resist  rolling  in  a 
seaway,  and  the  increased  diameter  of  the  several 
parts  gave  much  greater  stiffness  in  case  the  rigging 
was  cut,  or  part  of  a  mast  itself  was  cut  away  by 
shot.  The  advantage  here  cannot  be  overestimated. 
Most  of  the  engagements  were  fought  with  the  ships 
rolling  and  a  pressure  of  wind  on  the  sails.  Even 
a  slight  looseness  of  the  shrouds  was  dangerous. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  we  are  referring  to 
the  days  of  hemp  rigging  and  of  hemp  cables  for 
the  anchors.  Commodore  Morris  relates  of  the 
first  ship  in  which  he  went  to  sea,  the  Congress, 
that  she  was  dismasted  in  a  gale.  Her  rigging 
had  been  fitted  during  the  winter.  She  left  New 
port  in  January,  and  in  a  few  days  ran  into  much 
warmer  weather.  The  rigging  slackened  up  and 
did  not  afford  sufficient  support  to  the  mainmast, 
which  fell  overboard  in  a  gale  of  wind.  Without 
the  rigging,  a  ship's  masts  one  hundred  years  ago 
would  probably  have  gone  overboard  in  a  heavy 


42  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

sea  even  though  no  sails  were  set.  Hence  the  very 
great  danger  during  an  engagement,  if  the  standing 
rigging  was  much  cut,  and  the  advisability  of 
making  all  the  parts  extra  heavy.  The  Constitution 
was  not  exceptionally  well  built  for  an  American 
frigate  in  this  respect.  Her  sides  tumbled  home 
so  much  that  the  masts  could  not  be  stayed  to  the 
best  advantage.  Many  complaints  were  made  by 
her  commanding  officers  of  the  weakness  of  the 
channels,  probably  that  part  of  the  side  to  which 
the  lower  end  of  the  rigging  was  secured. 

Notwithstanding  the  improvements  made  by  Mr. 
Humphreys,  the  merits  of  the  Constitution  were 
not  discovered  until  after  she  had  destroyed  two 
British  frigates.  At  the  beginning  of  the  century 
English  officers  had  been  disposed  to  treat  our  new 
ships  contemptuously,  criticising  their  batteries  as 
too  heavy  and  their  general  design  as  too  clumsy. 
They  had  ample  opportunity  to  examine  the  Con 
stitution  in  the  West  Indies  and  the  Mediterra 
nean,  and  the  general  opinion  seemed  to  be  that 
she  was  too  heavy  for  the  rapid  manoeuvring  de 
manded  of  a  frigate.  Some  of  the  British  news 
papers  went  even  further,  and  referred  in  derision 
to  all  of  Mr.  Humphreys'  ships  as  "  fir-built  frig 
ates."  The  real  fact  is,  that  the  first  success  of 
the  Constitution  and  her  sister  ships  effected  almost 
a  revolution  in  the  design  and  armament  of  foreign 


DESCRIPTION,  ARMAMENT,  AND   CREW     43 

war- vessels,  just  as  the  Monitor,  fifty  years  later, 
practically  created  the  modern  battle-ship.  An 
English  authority,  writing  in  1840,  says,  "  It  is 
but  justice  in  regard  to  America  to  mention  that 
England  has  benefited  by  her  example,  and  that  the 
large  class  of  frigates  now  employed  in  the  British 
service  are  modeled  after  those  of  the  United 
States." 

There  has  never  been  any  doubt  since  1812  of  the 
superiority  of  these  ships  over  everything  of  their 
class  afloat  during  their  first  sixteen  years.  Mr. 
Humphreys  planned  them  to  excel  in  every  respect, 
and  he  lived  to  see  his  expectations  fulfilled.  In 
committing  himself  to  long  24-pound  guns  for  the 
main-deck  batteries,  he  was  really  striking  out  in 
a  new  path.  Only  a  few  frigates  had  previously 
carried  such  heavy  guns,  and  they  were  not  looked 
upon  as  examples  to  be  followed.  An  18-pounder 
was  regarded  as  the  effective  limit  for  good  work 
able  frigates.  Perhaps  this  departure  from  the 
ordinary  type  did  as  much  as  anything  else  to  bring 
our  young  navy  into  ridicule  abroad. 

The  first  battery  placed  on  board  the  Constitu 
tion  was  bought  in  England,  and  bore  the  stamp 
G.  R.  It  consisted  of  twenty-eight  long  24-pound- 
ers  on  the  gun-deck,  and  ten  long  12-pounders  on 
the  quarter-deck.  These  were  carried  through  the 
war  of  reprisal  against  France,  and  the  main-deck 


44  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

battery  was  used  against  the  English  in  1812.  In 
1804  Commodore  Preble  obtained  at  Naples  six 
24-pounders,  which  he  mounted  on  the  spar-deck 
for  use  against  the  Tripolitans.  The  upper  deck 
guns  were  afterwards  exchanged  for  42-pound  car- 
ronades,  but  these  were  found  too  heavy  for  the 
hull,  and  Captain  Hull  replaced  them  with  32- 
pound  carronades.  In  the  beginning  of  1812 
we  find  her,  therefore,  with  a  battery  somewhat 
lighter  than  those  of  her  sister  ships,  the  President 
and  the  United  States.  She  carried  on  the  gun- 
deck  thirty  long  24-pounders,  on  the  quarter-deck 
sixteen  32-pound  carronades,  and  on  the  forecastle 
six  32-pound  carronades,  one  long  18-pounder,  and 
two  long  24-pounders  as  bow  chasers.  After  Hull's 
victory  two  of  the  carronades  were  taken  out, 
leaving  her  with  fifty-three  guns  in  all.  The  bat 
tery  from  1815  to  the  present  time  is  unimportant ; 
and,  besides,  it  has  not  been  carefully  recorded. 
In  1860,  she  still  had  fifty  guns  on  board,  but  they 
were  shortly  afterwards  reduced  in  number,  and 
she  went  back  to  Annapolis  in  1865  with  seventeen 
guns.  While  serving  as  a  training-ship  for  ap 
prentices  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventies  she 
carried  eighteen  guns.  Now  she  has  none.  It  is 
probable  that  her  battery  during  the  War  of  1812 
was  too  heavy,  and  this  may  explain  the  hogging 
which  was  discovered  and  corrected  in  1834. 


DESCRIPTION,  ARMAMENT,  AND   CREW     45 

The  crew  was  fixed  by  Congress  in  1794  at  359 
officers  and  men,  but  the  Navy  Department  in 
creased  this  to  400  in  1798,  — 22  officers  and  378 
petty  officers,  seamen,  and  marines.  The  number 
was  further  increased  to  nearly  500  officers  and 
men,  doubtless  when  the  carronades  were  added  to 
the  battery.  The  following  list  of  men  is  taken 
from  Goldsborough's  "  Naval  Chronicle  :  "  — 

Commander 

Lieutenants 4 

Lieut.  Marines 

Sailing-master 

Master's  Mates 

Midshipmen 

Purser 

Surgeon  

Surgeon's  Mates 2 

Clerk 1 

Carpenter 

Carpenter's  Mates 2 

Boatswain 

Boatswain's  Mates 

Yeoman  of  gun-room 1 

Gunner 

Quarter-gunners 11 

Coxswain 

Sailmaker 

Cooper     

Steward 1 


46  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

Armorer 1 

Master-at-Arms 1 

Cook 1 

Chaplain 1 

Able  Seamen 120 

Ordinary  Seamen 150 

Boys 30 

Marines,   including    sergeants  and  cor 
porals  50 


Total 400 

The  pay  fixed  by  Congress  in  1794  and  subse 
quently  amended  in  1799  for  the  officers,  reck 
oning  in  the  value  of  commuted  rations,  was  as 
follows :  captain,  §2017.60  per  year ;  lieutenant, 
$786.60;  surgeon,  1804.40;  chaplain,  sailing- 
master,  purser,  $684.40  ;  surgeon's  mate,  lieuten 
ant  of  marines,  $564.40 ;  boatswain,  gunner,  sail- 
maker,  carpenter,  $444.40 ;  midshipman,  $432.40. 
The  pay  of  the  petty  officers  averaged  about  $19.00 
per  month,  with  the  addition  of  one  or  two  ra 
tions,  and  the  enlisted  men  received  from  $8.00 
to  $17.00  per  month.  The  total  running  expenses 
of  the  Constitution,  including  pay,  provisions,  med 
icines  and  miscellaneous  expenditures,  amounted  to 
about  $125,000  per  year.  Her  original  cost  was 
$302,719,  which  included  about  $93,000  for  the 
guns  and  equipment.  The  repairs  on  her  up  to 
1850  amounted  to  $495,236. 


CHAPTER  IV 

CONSTRUCTION   AND   FIRST   SERVICE   OF  THE   CON 
STITUTION 

THE  system  under  which  the  Constitution  was 
built  seems  to  have  been  radically  different  from 
the  present  common  practice.  The  materials  for 
the  hull  and  equipment  were  purchased  by  the 
Treasury  Department  and  supplied  to  the  builders. 
All  labor  and  unimportant  materials  were  procured 
by  naval  agents  who  received  a  commission  of  two 
and  one  half  per  cent  on  approved  bills.  The  cap 
tain  appointed  to  command  the  ship  was  ordered  to 
superintend  the  construction  and  equipment,  while 
the  naval  constructor  had  the  immediate  responsi 
bility  of  the  workmen  employed,  of  the  materials 
put  into  the  ship,  of  the  launching,  and  in  general 
of  all  that  went  towards  producing  a  frigate  me 
chanically  perfect  and  complete  in  accordance  with 
the  plans  supplied  by  Mr.  Humphreys.  The  actual 
builder,  or  master  mechanic,  in  whose  yard  the 
vessel  was  constructed,  had  no  responsibility  be 
yond  doing  good  work.  Immediately  after  the 


48  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

plans  were  prepared,  Mr.  John  T.  Morgan,  a  mas 
ter  shipwright  of  Boston,  was  sent  to  Savannah 
and  Charleston  to  select  live  oak,  red  cedar,  and 
hard  pine  for  all  the  new  frigates.  The  Secretary 
of  War  reported  to  Congress  "  that  everything,  if 
not  to  be  created,  was  to  be  modified.  That  the 
wood  of  which  the  frames  were  to  be  made  was 
standing  in  the  forests ;  the  iron  for  the  cannon 
lying  in  its  natural  bed ;  and  the  flax  and  hemp, 
perhaps,  in  their  seed."  The  first  tree  felled  for 
the  Constitution  was  an  oak  on  St.  Simon's  Island 
off  the  mouth  of  the  Altamaha  River.  The  stump 
stood  for  many  years  as  "  Constitution  Oak."  The 
best  of  live  oak  timbers  were  used  in  the  frames, 
and  the  construction  proceeded  with  unusual  care. 
It  is  probable  that  the  delay  following  the  treaty 
with  Algiers  served  to  toughen  the  oak,  and  to 
give  it  extraordinary  hardness. 

Colonel  George  Claghorn  was  appointed  naval 
constructor,  with  Mr.  Hartly  as  his  assistant,  and 
Samuel  Nicholson,  one  of  the  new  captains,  was 
detailed  as  inspector  for  the  government.  General 
Henry  Jackson  was  the  naval  agent  through  whose 
hands  all  payments  passed.  The  ship's  keel  was 
laid  in  the  yard  of  Edmund  Hartt;  or,  as  the 
place  was  called,  "  Hartt's  Naval  Yard,"  near  what 
is  now  Constitution  Wharf.  Edmund  Thayer 
built  the  gun-carriages  at  South  End,  and  Isaac 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  FIRST  SERVICE       49 

Harris,  who  put  new  masts  on  her  during  the  War 
of  1812,  worked  as  an  apprentice  in  the  mastyard. 
The  anchors  were  made  at  Hanover,  and  the  sails 
in  the  old  Granary  Building  at  the  corner  of  Park 
and  Tremont  streets.  The  Skillings  Brothers  were 
employed  on  carvings  for  the  figurehead  and  the 
several  ornaments  for  other  parts  of  the  ship.  It 
is  an  interesting  fact  that  Paul  Revere  supplied 
the  copper  for  the  hull.  He  wrote  to  the  Secre 
tary  of  War  offering  to  furnish  the  copper  and 
composition  bolts,  braces,  and  other  parts  "as 
cheap  as  any  one,"  and  he  subsequently  received 
$3820.33  in  payment  for  his  contribution  toward 
the  building  of  the  Constitution.  The  copper  bolts 
and  spikes  were  forged  by  a  process  known  only 
to  him. 

In  a  report  on  the  progress  in  building  the  frig 
ate,  dated  December  23,  1794,  Mr.  Humphreys 
makes  the  following  explanation,  which  shows 
where  he  originally  got  his  ideas.  "As  soon  as 
Congress  had  agreed  to  build  frigates,  it  was  con 
templated  to  make  them  the  most  powerful,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  the  most  useful  ships.  After 
the  most  extensive  researches  and  mature  delibera 
tions,  their  dimensions  were  fixed  and  I  was  di 
rected  to  prepare  the  draught ;  which  was  accord 
ingly  done  and  approved.  Those  plans  appear  to 
be  similar  with  those  adopted  by  France,  in  their 


50  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

great  experience  in  naval  architecture  ;  they  hav 
ing  cut  down  several  of  their  seventy-fours  to 
make  heavy  frigates ;  making  them  nearly  of  the 
dimensions  of  those  for  the  United  States.  From 
the  construction  of  those  ships,  it  is  expected  the 
commanders  of  them  will  have  it  in  their  power  to 
engage  or  not  any  ship,  as  they  may  think  pro 
per  ;  and  no  ship  under  sixty-four,  now  afloat,  but 
what  must  submit  to  them." 

By  the  end  of  1795  she  was  well  along  towards 
completion,  but  an  event  occurred  to  cause  a  seri 
ous  delay,  and  even  to  threaten  her  existence ; 
that  was  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Algiers.  It  had 
been  brought  about  through  the  persistent  efforts 
of  Colonel  Humphreys,  with  the  cooperation  of 
the  French  Republic.  The  treaty  was  signed  at 
Lisbon  on  November  28,  1795.  It  cost  us  in  all 
$992,463,  a  large  part  of  which  went  to  the  re 
demption  of  captives.  Peace  presents  amounted 
to  160,000.  We  further  agreed  upon  an  annuity 
of  $21,600  in  naval  stores.  Two  items  for  the 
first  two  years  were  1000  barrels  of  powder  and 
2000  bomb-shells,  enough  to  have  tempted  the 
Algerians  to  ask  for  an  increase  in  their  annuity. 
Another  item  was  introduced  through  our  failure  to 
pay  promptly.  The  Dey  became  very  wroth  over 
the  unavoidable  delay  in  getting  our  bills  cashed 
abroad,  and  the  agents,  fearing  the  loss  of  the 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  FIRST  SERVICE       51 

treaty,  promised  him  the  additional  gift  of  a  fine 
frigate.  This  cost  us  nearly  1100,000.  In  the 
course  of  time  the  whole  miserable  business  was 
completed,  however,  and  the  work  on  our  new 
frigates  was  stopped  in  accordance  with  the  act  of 
Congress.  The  treaty  with  Morocco  was  renewed 
at  the  same  time,  at  an  expense  of  125,000  paid 
down  without  further  tribute.  As  a  sequel  to  the 
above,  we  have  the  President's  recommendation  to 
Congress  in  1797,  "  The  Dey  of  Algiers  has  mani 
fested  a  predilection  for  American-built  vessels," 
and  he  "  will  repay  the  whole  expense  of  building. 
The  expense  of  navigating  them  to  Algiers  may 
perhaps  be  compensated  by  the  freight  of  the 
stores  with  which  they  may  be  loaded  on  account 
of  our  stipulations  by  treaty  with  the  Dey." 

The  whole  question  of  a  navy  was  once  more 
debated  in  Congress.  A  report  from  the  Secre 
tary  of  War  showed  that  the  frigates  were  in  vari 
ous  stages  of  completion,  and  that  all  of  them 
could  be  gotten  ready  for  sea  by  the  end  of  the 
year  1796.  The  sum  of  1688,888  had  been  pro 
vided  originally,  and  Congress  now  directed  the 
unexpended  balance  of  this  money  to  be  used  for 
the  completion  of  the  three  most  advanced  frig 
ates,  the  perishable  materials  and  the  other  three 
to  be  sold.  At  first  it  was  contended  that  none 
of  these  ships  should  be  completed,  that  we  had 


52  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

HO  need  of  a  navy,  that  commerce  ought  to  protect 
itself.  The  fundamental  reason  for  maintaining 
a  navy  was  hardly  broached,  and  Washington 
struck  the  keynote  of  the  situation  in  his  message 
to  Congress  at  the  end  of  1796.  "  It  is  in  our 
own  experience  that  the  most  sincere  neutrality  is 
not  sufficient  guard  against  the  depredations  of 
nations  at  war.  To  secure  respect  to  a  neutral 
flag  requires  a  naval  force  organized  and  ready 
to  protect  it  from  insult  or  aggression."  Natu 
rally  enough,  it  was  the  neutrality  question  and 
not  the  depredations  of  the  corsairs  which  ulti 
mately  forced  us  into  the  completion  of  the  frig 
ates  and  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  Navy 
Department. 

From  the  outbreak  of  the  war  between  Great 
Britain  and  France,  our  merchant-ships  had  fared 
badly  at  the  hands  of  both  belligerents.  Various 
decrees  and  paper  blockades  were  issued  by  one 
against  the  other  in  the  hope  of  cutting  off  all 
supplies  regardless  of  the  rights  of  neutral  nations. 
Our  country  was  the  chief  sufferer.  We  were 
between  the  millstones.  An  alliance  with  one  of 
the  belligerents  seemed  the  only  way  out  of  the 
difficulty,  and  this  was  exactly  what  each  side  was 
seeking,  in  order  to  use  our  harbors  as  bases  of 
operation  against  the  West  Indies.  The  French 
presumed  so  far  as  to  use  them  without  an  alii- 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  FIRST  SERVICE       53 

ance,  and  we  were  helpless  to  prevent  the  grossest 
violations  of  neutrality.  They  even  attempted  the 
enlistment  of  our  citizens  for  service  against  Great 
Britain,  and  when  the  government  objected  the 
French  minister  appealed  to  the  people  against 
their  executive.  His  recall  was  requested,  and  a 
war  of  spoliation  followed.  The  depredations  of 
the  pirates  were  as  nothing  compared  with  the 
system  pursued,  under  the  guise  of  belligerent 
rights,  by  both  England  and  France.  The  latter 
was  the  worst  offender.  Hundreds  of  our  ships 
were  captured  and  run  into  French  or  Spanish 
ports  for  adjudication.  Those  not  condemned 
were  usually  retained  until  their  cargoes  became 
worthless.  Many  American  sailors  suffered  in 
the  French  West  Indies  no  less  than  the  poor 
captives  in  Algiers. 

The  degradation  and  humiliation  of  the  United 
States  finally  passed  beyond  endurance,  and  Con 
gress  felt  obliged  to  act  in  defense  of  our  rights. 
Fortunately,  a  treaty  with  England  relieved  us  for 
the  time  being  of  one  antagonist,  and  we  were  free 
to  turn  against  France.  A  number  of  bills  were 
passed  looking  to  the  possibility  of  war ;  amongst 
others,  in  July,  1797,  an  additional  appropriation 
for  completing  three  frigates,  the  Constitution,  the 
United  States,  and  the  Constellation.  In  spite  of 
the  extreme  tension,  however,  relations  were  not 


54  THE   FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

quite  to  the  breaking-point,  and  Congress  was  too 
economical  to  authorize  the  actual  equipment  of 
these  ships  for  sea.  The  rupture  came  with  the 
publication  of  the  diplomatic  correspondence  with 
France.  The  French  Directory  had  refused  to 
receive  the  three  envoys  sent  over  to  negotiate,  and 
had  practically  insulted  them.  Certain  persons 
appeared  as  intermediaries  between  them  and  the 
Directory,  demanding  ample  remuneration  for  their 
services.  Another  inflaming  cause  of  the  trouble 
quickly  followed  in  the  appearance  of  a  French 
privateer  on  the  coast  in  the  early  part  of  1798. 
She  entered  the  harbor  of  Charleston  and  de 
stroyed  a  British  merchant-ship  peaceably  at  an 
chor;  then  she  went  outside  and  captured  two 
American  vessels  bound  into  port.  This  was  so 
plainly  an  act  of  war  that  Congress  immediately 
appropriated  the  necessary  money  to  arm,  equip, 
and  man  the  three  frigates  for  operation  against 
the  French.  One  month  later,  April  30, 1798,  the 
Navy  was  placed  under  a  separate  cabinet  officer, 
and  Benjamin  Stoddert  became  the  first  Secretary 
of  the  Navy.  The  final  step  towards  the  formation 
of  the  naval  service  was  thus  forced  upon  us  by 
the  friends  who  had  helped  to  gain  our  independ 
ence.  They  were  themselves  in  worse  servitude 
than  the  American  colonies  under  George  III., 
and  their  country  was  a  democracy  only  in  name. 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  FIRST  SERVICE       55 

During  the  summer  of  1798  war  was  practically 
declared  by  an  act  of  Congress  authorizing  the 
capture  of  any  armed  French  vessels  found  within 
the  jurisdictional  limits  of  the  United  States  or 
elsewhere  on  the  high  seas.  To  the  everlasting 
honor  of  the  nation,  the  private  property  of  French 
citizens  was  respected,  and  our  retaliation  was  con 
fined  solely  to  those  in  arms  against  us. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Constitution  had  been  com 
pleted  and  equipped  for  sea.  She  was  launched 
in  October,  1797.  The  date  originally  fixed  for 
the  launching  was  that  of  the  spring  tide  on  Sep 
tember  20,  but  she  disappointed  a  large  number 
of  spectators  by  sticking  on  the  ways.  The  Con 
stellation  had  been  gotten  into  the  water  at  Balti 
more  on  September  7,  and  the  United  States  still 
earlier,  July  10,  at  Philadelphia.  Experience 
with  the  launching  of  the  latter  ship  had  demon 
strated  that  the  ways  were  too  steep.  She  slid  off 
before  the  shores  were  knocked  out,  and  injured 
her  false  keel  and  rudder  brace  so  that  she  had  to 
be  hove  down  for  repairs.  The  builder  of  the  Con 
stitution,  wishing  to  avoid  a  repetition  of  this  acci 
dent,  accordingly  gave  the  ways  of  his  ship  less 
inclination,  and  got  it  so  small  that  she  did  not 
even  move  when  the  props  were  taken  out.  The 
President,  the  Governor,  and  other  notables  had 
been  invited  to  be  present,  and  the  interest  in 


56  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

Boston  was  so  great  as  to  draw  crowds  of  people. 
The  spectacle  must  have  been  a  mortifying  one  to 
Colonel  Claghorn.  He  had  sent  a  communication 
to  the  newspapers  expressing  abundant  solicitude 
for  the  spectators,  particularly  women  and  children. 
Only  a  limited  number  of  people  were  permitted 
to  enter  the  shipyard ;  others  were  advised  not  to 
"  approach  in  crowds  too  near  the  margin  of  the 
contiguous  wharves,  as  the  sudden  entrance  of  so 
large  a  body  as  the  frigate  will  occasion  an  in 
stantaneous  swell  of  water,  the  height  of  which 
cannot  be  easily  ascertained,  and  against  which, 
therefore,  the  discretion  of  the  people  ought  amply 
to  guard."  Pleasure  craft  were  warned  off,  and 
those  erecting  stages  for  the  accommodation  of 
spectators  were  requested  to  make  them  secure,  "  as 
the  loss  of  a  single  citizen  would  mar  the  satis 
faction  and  pleasure  that  the  constructor  would 
otherwise  enjoy  of  building  and  conducting  into 
the  ocean  a  Powerful  Agent  of  National  Justice, 
which  hope  dictates  may  become  the  just  pride 
and  ornament  of  the  American  name."  Colonel 
Claghorn  had  screws  and  other  mechanical  power 
applied,  but  in  vain.  The  ship  moved  down  the 
ways  about  twenty-seven  feet  and  then  stopped. 
No  effort  could  budge  her.  The  part  of  the  ways 
which  had  not  previously  borne  her  weight  settled, 
and  the  case  was  hopeless.  Two  days  later  another 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  FIRST  SERVICE       57 

attempt  likewise  proved  futile.  She  was  moved 
about  thirty-one  feet  further,  but  the  effort  was 
given  up  for  fear  of  placing  her  in  a  very  un 
safe  position  if  she  did  not  at  once  slide  into  the 
water.  Her  builder  proceeded  to  increase  the  in 
clination  of  the  ways  and  to  give  them  greater  sup 
port,  so  that  she  might  be  certain  to  move  off  at 
the  next  attempt,  which  was  set  for  the  spring  tide 
of  October.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  settling  of 
the  launching  ways  strained  her  so  that  the  keel 
was  out  of  line. 

The  newspapers  were  more  or  less  sympathetic, 
and  various  explanations  and  suggestions  were  sup 
plied  to  the  public.  That  the  "  Centinel "  had  views 
on  the  subject  is  evidenced  by  the  following,  taken 
from  an  article  written  to  inculcate  the  virtue  of 
calmness  and  philosophy  in  the  people's  disappoint 
ment  :  "  To  indifferent,  unthinking  people,  the 
disappointment  is  a  disappointment.  The  Jacobins 
will  crow,  and  the  Chronicle,  that  speaking  trumpet 
of  the  devil,  will  echo  the  tale  of  disappointment 
to  the  utmost  verge  of  its  pestiferous  influence." 

The  Haymarket  Theatre  was  more  successful  in 
a  stage  representation  of  the  launch.  A  musical 
piece,  called  " The-  Launch,"  or  "Huzza  for  the 
Constitution,"  had  been  written  for  the  evening  of 
September  20  by  Mr.  John  Hodgkinson.  The 
whole  was  conceived  and  prepared  in  the  short 


58  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

space  of  forty-eight  hours.  It  was  extensively 
advertised,  and  seems  to  have  been  a  great  success. 
One  Tyler  sang  a  song  in  praise  of  the  Constitu 
tion  and  her  crew. 

The  successful  launch  finally  occurred  on  Octo 
ber  21.  Captain  James  Sever,  whose  ship  was 
on  the  stocks  at  Portsmouth  awaiting  congressional 
action,  went  down  to  break  a  bottle  of  wine  over 
her  bow.  A  newspaper  man  was  present,  and  gave 
a  very  graphic  account  of  the  launch  before  "  a 
numerous  and  brilliant  collection  of  citizens." 
They  had  begun  to  assemble  at  daylight  on  the 
firing  of  a  gun,  which  was  the  signal  agreed  upon 
to  indicate  that  all  was  propitious,  and  "  at  fifteen 
minutes  after  twelve,  at  the  first  stroke  at  the  spur 
shores,  she  commenced  a  movement  into  the  water 
with  such  steadiness,  majesty  and  exactness  as  to 
fill  almost  every  breast  with  sensations  of  joy  and 
delight."  The  writer  closed  with  the  following 
sentiment :  "  May  the  hoary  monarch  of  the  ele 
ment,  on  whose  bosom  she  now  reclines,  protect 
her  with  his  trident ;  and  whenever  her  departure 
into  the  waste  of  his  realm  may  be  necessary,  may 
propitious  breezes  waft  her  to  the  haven  of  peace, 
or  aid  her  to  hurl  the  vindictive  thunder  of  national 
vengeance  on  the  disturbers  of  our  country's  re 
pose,  or  the  depredators  on  the  lawful  commerce  of 
our  citizens." 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  FIRST  SERVICE       59 

Captain  Samuel  Nicholson,  who  was  not  popular 
with  the  constructors  and  mechanics,  desired  very 
much  the  honor  of  hoisting  the  first  national  flag 
over  the  new  frigate,  but  he  was  forestalled  by  a 
workman.  He  went  out  of  the  shipyard  for  break 
fast  on  the  morning  of  the  launch,  leaving  orders 
that  no  flag  was  to  be  hoisted,  but  while  he  was 
absent  a  calker  named  Samuel  Bentley  ran  up  the 
flag,  which  had  already  been  bent  to  the  halyards. 
This  was  no  doubt  a  piece  of  mischief  deliberately 
aimed  at  Captain  Nicholson,  or  perhaps  a  method 
of  working  off  some  old  grudge.  The  new  flag 
bore  fifteen  stripes  for  the  total  number  of  states  in 
the  Union  at  that  time,  instead  of  thirteen  as  now. 

After  launching  her,  the  government  did  not 
proceed  with  diligence  to  fit  her  out.  The  act  to 
complete  and  equip  for  sea  the  three  frigates  was 
not  passed  until  March  27,  1798,  and  the  summer 
arrived  before  the  Constitution  got  fairly  away. 
The  officers  ordered  to  her  were  as  follows :  — 

Captain,  Samuel  Nicholson. 

First  Lieutenant,  Charles  Russell. 

Lieutenants,  Benjamin  Lee,  Richard  C.  Beale,  Isaac 
Hull. 

Lieutenant  of  Marines,  Lemuel  Clark. 

Surgeon,  William  Reed. 

The  act  of  Congress  directing  reprisals  against 
the  French  soon  called  into  existence  a  numerous 


60  THE   FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

fleet.  Privateers  were  commissioned,  revenue-ves 
sels  were  ordered  to  service  with  the  Navy,  and 
several  merchant-ships  were  purchased  and  armed. 
Four  squadrons  were  formed  to  patrol  the  coast 
and  the  West  Indies,  where  French  privateers  had 
wrought  the  greatest  havoc  upon  our  merchant 
shipping.  The  Constitution,  under  Captain  Samuel 
Nicholson,  was  included  in  the  detail  for  this  serv 
ice.  She  had  dropped  down  from  the  inner  harbor 
of  Boston  to  the  Roads  on  July  2,  1798,  and  she 
cleared  for  sea  on  the  22d.  She  was  not  the  first 
of  the  new  navy  to  get  under  canvas,  as  four  other 
ships  had  preceded  her  to  sea.  Her  first  essay  was 
probably  to  get  the  crew  shaken  down,  and  to  give 
them  some  practice  at  the  guns  and  under  sail. 
She  put  into  Newport  on  August  21  for  orders, 
and  there  Captain  Nicholson  found  that  he  was 
expected  to  cruise  from  Cape  Henry  to  Florida  in 
company  with  four  revenue-cutters,  in  search  of 
French  armed  ships.  He  sailed  on  August  23, 
but  his  ship  was  transferred  in  December  to 
the  squadron  of  Commodore  John  Barry,  with 
crui sing-ground  along  the  Windward  Islands  and 
rendezvous  at  Prince  Rupert's  Bay.  The  Con 
stitution  proved  to  be  too  large  for  the  duties  as 
signed  to  her,  as  the  French  sent  no  heavy  armed 
ships  to  America,  in  consequence  of  the  war  with 
England  and  of  the  numerous  English  fleet  in  the 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  FIRST  SERVICE       61 

West  Indies.  She  therefore  accomplished  little 
under  Captain  Nicholson  in  the  destruction  of  the 
French  privateers.  The  Constellation,  a  smaller 
frigate,  was  more  lucky,  as  she  fought  the  only  two 
frigate  actions  of  the  war.  None  of  the  American 
vessels  were  really  serviceable  in  running  down 
French  privateers,  until  later  two  fast  schooners 
were  fitted  up  for  this  purpose.  These  proved  to 
be  more  effective  than  all  our  ships  put  together 
had  previously  been.  In  1799,  Captain  Nicholson 
returned  to  Boston  and  gave  up  his  command  to 
Commodore  Silas  Talbot,  who,  with  Isaac  Hull  as 
first  lieutenant,  took  the  Constitution  as  his  flag 
ship.  She  carried  four  hundred  officers  and  men 
at  this  time. 

For  several  years  after  the  establishment  of  the 
Navy  Department,  the  Navy  lacked  method.  The 
appointment  of  officers  was  without  system ;  some 
had  served  in  the  Army,  some  in  merchant-ships, 
some  in  the  Navy  of  the  Revolution.  Almost  all 
of  the  captains  appointed  for  the  six  frigates 
authorized  in  1794  had  seen  service  in  the  Revo 
lutionary  Navy.  Many  of  the  commissioned  lieu 
tenants  came  from  the  merchant-service,  where  they 
had  been  commanders.  They  were  good  seamen, 
but  often  had  few  qualifications  as  officers.  The 
midshipmen  appointed  to  the  service  were  usually 
young  men  of  good  families.  They  seldom  had 


62  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

much  education,  and  the  service  did  not  encourage 
study;  but  they  developed  into  first-rate  seamen, 
whose  skill  and  pluck  have  never  been  exceeded. 
When  the  subordinate  officers  were  first  appointed 
to  the  new  ships,  they  took  rank  according  to  the 
seniority  of  the  commanding  officer.  The  first  lieu 
tenant  of  Captain  Barry's  ships  was  senior  to  all 
other  lieutenants,  and  the  junior  lieutenants  were 
senior  to  all  lieutenants  of  their  own  grade. 

Promotions  were  made  from  grade  to  grade  with 
out  much  rule  and  without  examination  for  fitness. 
During  the  French  war  they  were  most  irregular, 
and  officers  who  went  to  sea  as  lieutenants  some 
times  returned  home  as  captains.  Acting  midship 
men  were  appointed  by  the  captains  of  vessels.  A 
warrant  from  the  Navy  Department  made  them 
permanent  officers,  but  the  examinations  for  ad 
vancement  to  the  lieutenant's  grade  were  not  insti 
tuted  until  1819.  The  service  was  not  homogene 
ous,  and  there  was  little  esprit  de  corps  until  the 
first  midshipmen  appointed  to  the  Navy  grew  up 
to  be  commanding  officers.  Nevertheless,  life  on 
board  ship  seems  to  have  been  more  social  than  we 
find  it  on  our  large  ships  now,  and  the  officers 
came  to  know  one  another  better.  The  smallness 
of  the  Navy  and  the  constant  meeting  of  the  ships 
threw  them  much  together.  In  1801,  after  the 
treaty  with  France,  the  list  of  officers  was  reduced 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  FIRST  SERVICE      63 

from  506  to  229,  probably  ridding  the  service  of 
many  undesirables,  and  leaving  a  picked  corps  for 
the  Navy.  This  may  account  in  some  measure 
for  the  uniform  good  behavior  of  our  officers  before 
Tripoli. 

There  were  four  grades  of  officers  who  succeeded 
to  the  command  of  vessels :  Captains,  Master  Com 
mandants,  Lieutenants,  and  Midshipmen.  The 
senior  captain  in  a  squadron,  while  in  command, 
received  the  title  Commodore,  and  flew  a  broad 
pennant  at  the  mainmast  to  designate  the  flag 
ship. 

The  term  of  service  of  seamen  was  only  one 
year,  and  ships  were  often  much  embarrassed  by 
the  necessity  of  getting  back  to  port  for  new  crews. 
The  war  with  the  Barbary  pirates  was  carried  on 
at  such  a  distance  from  home  that  Congress  was 
obliged  to  extend  the  period  of  enlistment  to  two 
years,  and  in  1820  this  was  further  extended  to 
three  years.  The  short  enlistment  had  repeatedly 
given  trouble,  and  even  with  the  two-year  limit  the 
crews  were  occasionally  kept  beyond  their  time,  con 
trary  to  law,  owing  to  the  impossibility  of  getting 
them  home.  In  1807  an  incident  illustrative  of  the 
discontent  of  the  seamen  from  this  cause  occurred  on 
the  Constitution  just  before  she  sailed  from  Gibral 
tar.  Some  of  the  men  were  nearly  two  years  over 
time.  When  all  hands  were  called  to  get  up 


64  THE   FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

anchor,  the  crew  refused  to  obey  unless  the  shjp  was 
to  sail  for  home,  where  they  could  obtain  their  dis 
charges.  The  captain,  sustained  by  his  officers  and 
the  marines,  succeeded  in  quelling  the  insubordi 
nation,  but  none  of  the  men  was  ever  punished. 

The  Constitution  left  Boston  in  August,  1799,  to 
become  the  flagship  on  the  San  Domingo  station, 
and  to  cruise  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cayenne  and 
Guadeloupe  on  the  way  to  Cape  Francois,  where 
Commodore  Talbot  was  to  assume  the  chief  com 
mand.  This  cruise  brought  the  ship  no  particular 
credit,  as  she  captured  only  a  few  insignificant 
prizes.  Two  events,  however,  served  to  vary  the 
monotony  of  the  quasi-blockade  of  the  islands.  As 
stated  before,  the  ship  was  very  heavily  built  and 
carried  guns  considerably  heavier  than  the  corre 
sponding  rate  in  the  British  Navy.  She  was  much 
criticised  by  the  English  in  the  West  Indies. 
While  cruising  to  windward  of  San  Domingo,  a 
ship  was  sighted  which  turned  out  to  be  a  British 
frigate  commanded  by  an  acquaintance  of  Commo 
dore  Talbot.  The  English  captain  went  on  board 
the  Constitution  to  take  a  look  at  the  craft,  and 
after  examining  her  he  expressed  great  admiration 
for  her,  but  declared  that  his  own  ship  could  beat 
her  on  the  wind.  As  he  had  come  out  by  way  of  the 
Madeiras,  where  he  had  purchased  some  wine,  he 
offered  to  bet  a  cask  of  Madeira  against  an  equiva- 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  FIRST  SERVICE      65 

lent  in  money  if  Commodore  Talbot  would  meet 
him  thereabouts  some  weeks  later  for  a  trial  of 
speed.  The  agreement  was  made,  and  the  English 
man  went  into  port  to  refit  and  clean  the  bottom. 
He  came  out  at  the  appointed  time  looking,  as 
Jack  Tar  said,  like  a  new  fiddle.  The  two  com 
manders  dined  together,  and  arranged  the  con 
ditions  of  the  race  for  the  succeeding  day.  The 
ships  kept  near  each  other  during  the  night,  and 
Isaac  Hull,  who  had  charge  of  all  details  on  the 
Constitution,  made  every  preparation  for  the  race, 
which  began  at  dawn  upon  the  firing  of  a  gun. 
All  day  long  the  two  ships  beat  to  windward  in 
short  tacks,  Hull  watching  for  every  possible  op 
portunity  and  advantage.  His  skill  in  handling 
the  ship  on  this  occasion  gained  him  a  lasting  repu 
tation  among  the  sailors,  who  were  kept  on  deck 
moving  from  side  to  side  whenever  a  better  slant 
of  wind  could  be  obtained  thereby.  When  the  gun 
was  fired  at  sunset  the  Englishman  was  hull  down 
to  leeward.  The  Constitution  accordingly  squared 
away  before  the  wind  and  joined  him  after  dark. 
A  boat  was  waiting,  and  the  English  captain  came 
on  board,  like  a  true  sportsman,  with  his  cask  of 
Madeira.  It  is  a  pleasant  picture  to  see  the  two 
captains  meeting  over  a  social  glass  of  wine  in 
celebration  of  the  event.  The  relations  between 
American  and  English  ships  did  not  lack  cordiality 


66  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

at  this  period,  in  spite  of  the  growing  irritation 
over  the  impressment  of  our  seamen.  The  Balti 
more  affair  had  occurred  only  the  previous  year, 
when  five  sailors  were  taken  out  of  the  Baltimore 
sloop-of-war  by  a  British  squadron. 

The  next  exploit  of  the  Constitution  was  full  of 
promise  for  the  future,  although  not  very  credit 
able  to  the  judgment  of  the  commanding  officer. 
Having  heard  that  the  Sandwich,  a  French  letter 
of  marque,  was  in  the  Spanish  harbor  of  Porto 
Plata,  on  the  north  side  of  San  Domingo,  loading 
with  coffee,  he  determined  to  cut  her  out.  Isaac 
Hull  was  directed  on  the  10th  of  May,  1800,  to 
take  a  detachment  of  sailors  and  marines  from  the 
Constitution  for  this  duty,  and  Commodore  Tal- 
bot  gave  him  orders  to  bring  the  Sandwich  out  if 
practicable.  The  work  was  admirably  done  in 
broad  daylight,  as  will  be  seen  by  Commodore 
Talbot's  own  report  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  : 

I  have  now  to  acquaint  you,  Sir,  that  I  have  for  some 
time  been  meditating  an  enterprise  against  a  French 
armed  ship  lying  at  Port  Platte,  protected  by  her  own 
guns  and  a  fort  of  three  heavy  cannon.  It  was  my  first 
intention  to  have  gone  in  with  the  Constitution,  and  to 
have  silenced  the  fort  and  ship,  which  has  all  her  guns 
on  one  side,  to  cooperate  with  the  fort  in  defending 
against  any  hostile  force ;  but  after  the  best  information 
I  could  gain,  I  found  it  to  be  somewhat  dangerous  to 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  FIRST  SERVICE      67 

approach  the  entrance  of  the  harbor,  with  a  ship  of  the 
draft  of  water  of  the  Constitution. 

Having  detained  the  sloop  Sally,  which  had  left  Port 
Platte  but  a  few  days  before,  and  was  to  have  returned 
there  previous  to  her  sailing  for  the  United  States,  I 
conceived  that  this  sloop  would  be  a  suitable  vessel  for 
a  disguise.  I  therefore  manned  her  at  sea  from  the 
Constitution,  with  about  ninety  brave  seamen  and 
marines,  the  latter  to  be  commanded  by  Captain  Car- 
mick  and  Lieutenant  Amory,  when  on  shore ;  but  the 
entire  command  I  gave  to  Mr.  Isaac  Hull,  my  first  lieu 
tenant,  who  entered  the  harbor  of  Port  Platte  yesterday, 
in  open  day,  with  his  men  in  the  hold  of  the  sloop,  ex 
cept  five  or  six  to  work  her  in.  They  ran  alongside  of 
the  ship,  and  boarded  her  sword  in  hand,  without  the 
loss  of  a  man,  killed  or  wounded.  At  the  moment  the 
ship  was  boarded,  agreeably  to  my  plan,  Captain  Car- 
mick  and  Lieutenant  Amory  landed  with  the  marines, 
up  to  their  necks  in  water,  and  spiked  all  the  cannon  in 
the  fort,  before  the  commanding  officer  had  time  to 
recollect  and  prepare  himself  for  defence. 

Perhaps  no  enterprise  of  the  same  moment  was  ever 
better  executed ;  and  I  feel  myself  under  great  obliga 
tions  to  Lieutenant  Hull,  Captain  Carmick,  and  Lieu 
tenant  Amory,  for  their  avidity  in  undertaking  the 
scheme  I  had  planned,  and  for  the  handsome  manner 
and  great  address  with  which  they  performed  this  dar 
ing  venture. 

The  ship,  I  understand,  mounts  four  sixes  and  two 
nines ;  she  was  formerly  the  British  packet  Sandwich, 


68  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

and  from  the  boasting  publications  at  the  cape,  and  the 
declaration  of  the  officers,  she  is  one  of  the  fastest  sailors 
that  swims.  She  ran  three  or  four  years  (if  I  forget 
not),  as  a  privateer  out  of  France,  and  with  greater  suc 
cess  than  any  other  that  ever  sailed  out  of  their  ports. 
She  is  a  beautiful  copper  bottomed  ship ;  her  cargo  con 
sists  principally  of  sugar  and  coffee. 

I  am,  &c.,  SILAS  TALBOT. 

After  the  capture,  the  ship,  which  was  stripped 
down  to  her  lower  masts,  had  to  be  rigged  before 
they  could  move  her;  but  nothing  daunted  the 
American  sailors,  and  she  sailed  out  at  sunset. 
Not  a  man  was  injured.  Although  no  expedition 
was  ever  better  planned  and  carried  out,  it  cost 
the  crew  dear  in  the  end.  The  capture  was  wholly 
illegal,  as  the  United  States  had  no  quarrel  with 
Spain  and  was  not  even  by  declaration  at  war  with 
France.  The  government  not  only  returned  the 
Sandwich,  but  also  held  back  all  the  prize  money 
earned  by  the  Constitution  during  the  cruise  to 
pay  damages.  There  may  have  been  some  justifi 
cation  in  Commodore  Talbot's  mind  for  the  cap 
ture.  The  Spaniards  did  not  object  to  the  use  of 
their  ports  for  the  benefit  of  French  armed  vessels, 
and  it  is  probable  that  they  violated  their  neutral 
ity  repeatedly.  Still,  this  did  not  justify  an  Ameri 
can  officer  in  an  illegal  act.  Upon  the  return  of 
the  Constitution  to  Boston  in  August,  1800,  the 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  FIRST  SERVICE       69 

Secretary  of  the  Navy  wrote  a  very  glowing  tribute 
to  Commodore  Talbot  for  his  meritorious  services 
in  "protecting  with  effect  a  great  proportion  of 
our  commerce,  in  laying  the  foundation  of  a  perma 
nent  trade  with  San  Domingo,  and  in  causing  the 
American  character  to  be  respected."  He  went 
back  to  his  old  station  on  the  Constitution  in  No 
vember  and  served  until  March,  1801,  when  the 
treaty  with  France  removed  all  cause  of  friction, 
and  the  ships  were  recalled. 

By  Act  of  Congress  approved  March  3,  1801, 
the  Navy  was  reduced  to  a  peace  footing,  and  only 
those  ships  built  expressly  for  the  service  were  re 
tained.  The  country  had  not  yet  reached  the  point 
of  dealing  adequately  with  the  Algerian  and  Tri- 
politan  pirates,  and  there  was  very  little  use  for 
the  heavy  frigates.  The  crew  of  the  Constitution 
was  accordingly  paid  off,  and  the  ship  was  dis 
mantled  at  the  Boston  Navy  Yard,  where  she  lay 
from  March,  1801,  to  August,  1803.  On  the  14th 
of  that  month  she  sailed  for  the  Mediterranean 
under  the  command  of  Edward  Preble,  to  serve  as 
flagship  on  the  blockade  which  broke  the  power  of 
the  corsair.  She  carried  out  as  passengers  Colonel 
Tobias  Lear,  Consul  General  of  the  United  States 
to  the  Barbary  States,  and  his  wife. 

The  officers  attached  to  her  at  this  time  were  :  — 


70  THE   FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

Captain,  Edward  Preble. 

Lieutenants,  Thomas  Robinson,  William  C.  Jenks, 
Joseph  Tarbell,  and  Samuel  Elbert. 

Sailing-master,  Nathaniel  Haraden. 

Midshipmen,  Daniel  S.  Dexter,  John  M.  Haswell, 
Ralph  Izard,  Charles  Morris,  John  Rowe,  Alexander 
Laws,  John  Davis,  William  Burrows,  David  Deacon, 
Heathcote  J.  Reed,  James  Nicholson,  Leonard  Hunne- 
well,  Thomas  Baldwin,  Francis  C.  Hall,  and  John 
Thompson. 

Lieutenant  Jenks  left  her  at  Gibraltar,  and 
Lieutenant  John  H.  Dent  and  Charles  Gordon 
joined  her.  Midshipman  Baldwin  resigned,  and 
the  following  midshipmen  were  transferred  to 
her  :  — 

Henry  Wads  worth,  Lewis  Alexis,  Christopher  Gadsen, 
Joseph  Israel,  Charles  G.  Ridgely,  Richard  Carey, 
Robert  Henley,  Thomas  MacDonough,  and  William 
Lewis. 


CHAPTER  V 

WAR   WITH   TRIPOLI  —  EDWARD   PREBLE 

THE  chain  of  events  which  led  up  to  this  voyage 
forms  an  interesting  and  instructive  lesson  on  the 
impotency  of  our  foreign  relations  one  hundred 
years  ago.  The  treaty  with  Algiers  had  awakened 
the  cupidity  of  Tripoli,  and  the  Dey  complained  to 
our  consul  that  he  was  not  receiving  the  attentions 
paid  to  Algiers  and  Tunis.  He  wanted  a  frigate 
like  that  presented  to  the  former.  This  frigate 
had  sailed  from  Portsmouth  in  1798,  under  the 
following  circumstances,  as  noticed  in  one  of  the 
journals :  — 

CRESCENT  FRIGATE 

PORTSMOUTH  Jan.  20th. 

On  Thursday  morning  about  sunrise,  a  gun  was  dis 
charged  from  the  Crescent  frigate  as  a  signal  for  getting 
under  way ;  and  at  10,  A.  M.,  she  cleared  the  harbor, 
with  a  fine  leading  breeze.  May  they  arrive  in  safety 
at  the  place  of  their  destination,  and  present  to  the  Dey 
of  Algiers,  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  elegant  naval 
architecture  which  was  ever  borne  on  the  Piscataqua's 
waters. 


72  THE   FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

Blow  all  ye  winds  that  fill  the  prosperous  sail, 
And  hushed  in  peace  be  every  adverse  gale. 

The  Crescent  is  a  present  from  the  United  States  to 
the  Dey,  as  compensation  for  delay  in  not  fulfilling  our 
treaty  stipulations  in  proper  time. 

Richard  O'Brien,  Esq.,  who  was  ten  years  a  prisoner 
at  Algiers,  took  passage  in  the  above  frigate,  and  is 
to  reside  at  Algiers  as  Consul  General  of  the  United 
States  to  all  the  Barbary  States. 

The  Crescent  has  many  valuable  presents  on  board 
for  the  Dey,  and  when  she  sailed  was  supposed  to  be 
worth  at  least  three  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Twenty-six  barrels  of  dollars  constituted  a  part  of  her 
cargo. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  captain,  chief  of 
the  officers,  and  many  of  the  privates  of  the  Crescent 
frigate,  have  been  prisoners  at  Algiers. 

There  was  a  certain  delicacy  in  manning  the 
ship  with  former  captives  of  the  Dey  which  could 
not  fail  to  propitiate  and  please  him.  He  grew  to 
regard  himself  as  having  a  certain  proprietary  in 
terest  in  all  our  ships,  and  two  years  later,  when 
Captain  Bainbridge  arrived  in  the  George  Wash 
ington  with  the  tribute,  he  ordered  her  to  Constan 
tinople  with  an  ambassador  and  presents  to  the 
Sultan.  Bainbridge  yielded  to  this  demand,  under 
the  advice  of  our  consul,  for  the  sake  of  American 
commerce  in  the  Mediterranean.  We  had  upwards 
of  200  sail  entirely  unprotected  within  reach  of  the 


WILLIAM  BAINBRIDGE 


WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI  73 

Dey  and  his  corsairs.  The  George  Washington 
returned  to  Algiers  with  a  firman  from  the  Sultan 
which  frightened  the  Dey,  and  Bainbridge  made 
use  of  his  temporary  panic  to  secure  the  liberation 
of  the  French  Consul  and  sixty  of  his  countrymen. 
A  letter  to  the  President  of  the  United  States 
from  the  Dey  of  Tripoli  in  May,  1800,  reads  as 
follows  : 

"  After  having  cultivated  the  branches  of  our  good 
will,  and  paved  the  way  for  a  good  understanding  and 
perfect  friendship,  which  we  wish  may  continue  forever, 
we  make  known,  that  the  object  and  contents  of  this  our 
present  letter  is,  that  whereas,  your  consul,  who  resides 
at  our  court  in  your  service,  has  communicated  to  us,  in 
your  name,  that  you  have  written  to  him  that  you  re 
garded  the  regency  of  Tripoli  in  the  same  point  of  view- 
as  the  other  regencies  of  Barbary,  and  to  be  upon  the 
same  footing  of  friendship  and  importance.  In  order 
further  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of  a  good  understanding, 
blessed  be  God,  may  he  complete  and  grant  to  you  his 
high  protection.  But  our  sincere  friend,  we  could  wish 
that  these  your  expressions  were  followed  by  deeds,  and 
not  by  empty  words.  You  will  therefore  endeavor  to 
satisfy  us  by  a  good  manner  of  proceeding.  We,  on 
our  part,  will  correspond  with  you  with  equal  friendshipr 
as  well  in  words  as  deeds.  But  if  only  flattering  words 
are  meant  without  performance,  every  one  will  act  as 
he  finds  convenient :  we  beg  a  speedy  answer,  without 
neglect  of  time,  as  a  delay  on  your  part  cannot  but  be 
prejudicial  to  your  interests." 


74  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

The  President  was  negligent  about  soothing  the 
injured  feelings  of  this  Oriental  gentleman,  and 
accordingly,  May  14, 1801,  he  ordered  the  American 
flagstaff  cut  down  in  token  of  a  declaration  of  war, 

and  told  the  American  consul  he  could  go  or  stay. 

j 

The  Dey  of  Tunis  was  also  displeased,  and  de 
manded  various  gifts,  principally  forty  cannon,  all 
to  be  24-pounders,  and  ten  thousand  stands  of  arms. 
He  wanted  them  at  once.  Released  from  the  diffi 
culty  with  France,  the  United  States  was  able  to 
send  a  squadron  to  the  Mediterranean  in  the 
summer  of  1801.  Commodore  Richard  Dale  was 
ordered  over  with  four  ships  simply  to  observe  the 
ports  of  the  Barbary  States.  He  was  directed  not 
to  go  beyond  the  line  of  defense.  In  consequence, 
a  Tripolitan  armed  vessel  captured  by  the  Enter 
prise  was  released  after  being  dismantled  and 
stripped  of  her  guns.  Commodore  Dale  succeeded 
in  protecting  American  ships  by  convoy  and  by  a 
display  of  force  in  the  North  African  ports,  but  his 
orders  were  too  limited  for  effective  work  and  his 
ships  were  not  suitable ;  besides,  the  time  of  his 
men  ran  out,  and  he  was  relieved  early  in  1802  by 
Commodore  Richard  V.  Morris  with  a  squadron  of 
six  ships.  This  squadron  accomplished  practically 
nothing,  for  which  Commodore  Morris  was  sus 
pended  by  the  President  in  June,  1803.  He  was 
directed  to  turn  over  his  command  to  Captain 
Rodgers,  pending  the  arrival  of  Commodore  Preble. 


WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI  75 

The  Constitution  reached  Gibraltar  on  Septem 
ber  12,  1803,  just  twenty-nine  days  from  Boston, 
and  met  there  three  ships  of  Morris's  squadron,  — 
the  Adams,  on  the  eve  of  returning  to  the  United 
States  with  Morris,  and  the  New  York  and  John 
Adams  under  John  Rodgers,  who  was  also  ordered 
to  bring  his  ships  home.  The  Philadelphia  had 
arrived  out  in  August,  the  Nautilus  in  July,  and 
several  other  ships  joined  later.  By  November 
1,  Preble  had  under  his  command  the  following 
vessels :  — 

Constitution  44  guns  Edward  Preble 

Philadelphia  44  "  William  Bainbridge 

Argus  16  "  Isaac  Hull 

Siren  16  "  Charles  Stewart 

Vixen  14  "  John  Smith 

Nautilus  12  "  Richard  Somers 

Enterprise  12     "  Stephen  Decatur 

The  government,  having  discovered  by  experi 
ence  with  two  different  squadrons  that  frigates 
were  too  heavy  for  the  service  before  Tripoli  and 
Tunis,  had  authorized  the  construction  of  four 
small  vessels  early  in  1803.  The  work  on  them 
was  pushed  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  they  were 
sent  to  the  Mediterranean,  one  at  a  time,  as  they 
were  completed.  Of  these,  the  Argus  and  Siren 
were  brigs,  the  Vixen  and  Nautilus  schooners. 
The  Enterprise  was  a  schooner  left  on  the  station 


76  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

from  Commodore  Morris's  command.  They  were 
intended  for  inshore  work,  where  light  draught  was 
a  necessity.  The  character  of  the  north  coast  of 
Africa  rendered  navigation  for  large  ships  very 
dangerous  when  pursuing  the  smaller  piratical 
craft,  which  could  run  for  refuge  into  any  of  the 
shallow  bays  and  inlets.  The  Constitution  and  the 
Philadelphia  were  really  too  heavy  for  blockade 
duty  on  the  south  shore  of  the  Mediterranean,  and 
too  light  for  the  bombardment  of  fortifications, 
so  that  their  places  seemed  as  convoys ;  but  the 
United  States  possessed  nothing  better.  The  line- 
of- battle -ships  were  not  built  until  afterwards. 
Commodore  Treble's  little  fleet  has  been  called  the 
nursery  of  the  Navy,  or  the  training-school  of  the 
"War  of  1812,  and  its  commander  had  so  great  an 
influence  in  shaping  the  characters  of  a  number  of 
men  who  were  destined  to  mould  the  chaotic  mass 
of  ships  and  men  then  called  the  Navy  into  a  well- 
disciplined  service,  that  he  deserves  more  than 
a  passing  mention.  The  importance  of  having 
a  clear  head  at  the  beginning  of  things  cannot  be 
overestimated.  We  owe  to  Preble  more  than  the 
release  from  the  pirates  of  North  Africa.  The 
spectacular  always  has  a  great  attraction,  and  in 
the  heroic  deeds  of  our  young  sailors  and  the  glitter 
of  arms  as  they  fought  hand  to  hand  with  the  cor 
sairs,  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  long  weeks  of 


EDWARD  PREBLE  77 

preparation  and  the  wise  guidance  of  impetuous 
seamen  to  a  single  end. 

Edward  Preble  was  born  at  Portland,  Maine, 
in  1761,  and  obtained  his  early  education  at  the 
Dummer  Academy.  His  father  designed  him  for 
a  professional  career,  but  at  sixteen  the  boy  ran 
away  from  the  farm  on  which  they  lived,  and 
enlisted  on  a  privateer  commanded  by  William 
French.  In  1779  his  father  obtained  a  midship 
man's  warrant  for  him  in  the  Massachusetts  State 
Marine,  and  he  went  to  sea  on  the  Protector,  a 
26-gun  ship  commanded  by  J.  F.  Williams.  He 
was  in  two  actions  with  the  British,  and  was  taken 
prisoner  and  sent  to  New  York,  where  he  would 
have  experienced  much  privation  but  for  a  friend 
of  his  father's  who  secured  his  release.  He 
promptly  joined  the  Winthrop,  as  first  lieutenant, 
and  distinguished  himself  greatly  in  a  successful 
cutting-out  expedition  under  the  guns  of  Castine. 

He  subsequently  spent  fifteen  years  in  the  mer 
chant-service  and  saw  much  of  the  world.  During 
the  preparation  for  war  with  France  he  received  a 
commission  as  lieutenant  in  the  Navy,  in  April, 

1798.  Although  ordered  to  the  Constitution,  he 
succeeded  in  obtaining  command  of  the  Pickering, 
a  revenue  cutter.     Promoted  to  captain  in  June, 

1799,  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  Essex,  and 
sailed  to  the  East  Indies  to  convoy  home  a  fleet  of 


78  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

merchantmen.  In  January,  1802,  he  was  ordered 
to  command  the  frigate  Adams,  but  was  released 
from  that  duty  on  account  of  sickness  ;  and  in  May, 
1803,  he  was  detailed  to  get  the  Constitution  ready 
for  service  in  the  Mediterranean.  He  was  one  of 
the  best  of  our  early  seamen,  and  as  an  officer 
earned  the  good  will  of  all  who  served  under  him. 
Notwithstanding  this,  his  subordinates  disliked 
him  at  first,  and  time  was  required  to  discover 
beneath  a  violent  temper  kindness  and  justice. 
His  discipline  was  rigid,  but  applications  to  serve 
under  him  were  numerous.  The  great  responsi 
bility  of  the  Mediterranean  station,  with  insuffi 
cient  means  to  carry  out  the  designs  of  Congress, 
demanded  an  organizing  ability  altogether  differ 
ent  from  that  displayed  in  the  great  single  actions 
of  the  Navy.  It  was  undertaken  and  supported 
without  flinching,  although  he  was  gradually  sink 
ing  under  bodily  infirmity.  He  took  command  of 
the  squadron  at  the  age  of  forty-two  and  died  four 
years  later. 

The  following  incident  of  the  voyage  out  is  re 
lated  by  Morris,  who  was  then  serving  as  a  mid 
shipman  on  board.  It  is  quite  evident  that  Preble 
began  the  cruise  with  considerable  friction :  — 

"  We  had  nothing  of  interest  on  the  passage  until 
near  the  entrance  of  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar,  when,  upon 
a  very  dark  evening,  with  very  light  winds,  we  suddenly 


EDWARD  PREBLE  79 

found  ourselves  near  a  vessel  which  was  evidently  a  ship 
of  war.  The  crew  were  immediately  but  silently  brought 
to  quarters,  after  which  the  Commodore  gave  the  usual 
hail,  'What  ship  is  that?'  The  same  question  was 
returned ;  in  reply  to  which  the  name  of  our  ship  was 
given,  and  the  question  repeated.  Again  the  question 
was  returned  instead  of  an  answer,  and  again  our  ship's 
name  given  and  the  question  repeated,  without  other 
reply  than  its  repetition.  The  Commodore's  patience 
seemed  now  exhausted,  and,  taking  the  trumpet,  he 
hailed  and  said,  '  I  am  now  going  to  hail  you  for  the 
last  time.  If  a  proper  answer  is  not  returned,  I  will 
fire  a  shot  into  you.'  A  prompt  answer  came  back, 
'  If  you  fire  a  shot,  I  will  return  a  broadside.'  Preble 
then  hailed,  '  What  ship  is  that  ? '  The  reply  was, 
'  This  is  His  Britannic  Majesty's  ship  Donnegal,  eighty- 
four  guns,  Sir  Richard  Strahan,  an  English  Commodore. 
Send  your  boat  on  board.'  Under  the  excitement  of 
the  moment,  Preble  leaped  on  the  hammocks  and  re 
turned  for  answer,  i  This  is  the  United  States  ship  Con 
stitution,  forty-four  guns,  Edward  Preble,  an  American 
Commodore,  who  will  be  damned  before  he  sends  his 
boat  on  board  of  any  vessel.'  And,  turning  to  the 
crew,  he  said,  '  Blow  your  matches,  boys.'  The  con 
versation  here  ceased,  and  soon  after  a  boat  was  heard 
coming  from  the  stranger,  and  arrived  with  a  lieutenant 
from  the  frigate  Maidstone.  The  object  of  this  officer 
was  to  apologize  for  the  apparent  rudeness  which  had 
been  displayed.  He  stated  that  our  ship  had  not  been 
seen  until  we  had  hailed  them ;  that  it  was,  of  course, 


80  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

very  important  to  gain  time  to  bring  their  men  to  quar 
ters,  especially  as  it  was  apparent  we  were  not  English, 
and  they  had  no  expectation  of  meeting  an  American 
ship  of  war  there  ;  and  that  this  object  had  induced 
their  delay  and  misrepresentation  in  giving  the  ship's 
name.  The  excuses  were  deemed  satisfactory,  and  the 
ships  separated.  This  was  the  first  occasion  that  had 
offered  to  show  us  what  we  might  expect  from  our  com 
mander,  and  the  spirit  and  decision  which  he  displayed 
were  hailed  with  pleasure  by  all,  and  at  once  mitigated 
greatly  the  unfriendly  feelings  which  the  exhibitions  of 
his  temper  had  produced." 

Although  the  squadron  formed  only  a  fraction 
of  our  available  sea  force,  a  large  majority  of  the 
officers  who  distinguished  themselves  in  the  War 
of  1812  served  under  Preble  before  Tripoli.  De- 
catur,  Hull,  Stewart,  Biddle,  Macdonough,  Law 
rence,  Warrington,  Chauncey,  and  Burrows,  were  all 
men  much  above  the  average.  Bain  bridge,  Jones, 
and  Porter  were  prisoners  in  Tripoli,  and  Perry  bad 
gone  home  in  the  Adams  just  after  the  new  squad 
ron  came  out.  All  of  the  commanding  officers 
were  young.  Not  one  had  reached  the  age  of 
thirty  when  Preble  first  met  them  for  a  conference 
in  his  cabin.  He  felt  that  the  government  had 
not  dealt  fairly  with  him  in  sending  out  a  lot  of 
boys.  In  fact,  he  expressed  bis  dissatisfaction  to 
Mr.  Lear,  who  was  on  board.  When  afterwards 


EDWARD   FEEBLE 


EDWARD  PREBLE  81 

reminded  that  he  had  called  them  boys,  he  said, 
"  Yes,  but  they  are  good  boys."  He  also  told  Mr. 
Lear  that  no  commander  was  ever  blessed  with 
better  officers.  It  was  perhaps  the  intimate  per 
sonal  association  with  Preble  and  with  one  another 
in  a  very  trying  and  difficult  service  that  went  far 
to  form  their  characters  and  to  fit  them  for  the 
more  independent  commands  which  came  after 
wards.  We  probably  owe  more  than  the  conquest 
of  Tripoli  to  this  association.  Personal  acquaint 
ance  and  sympathy  have  much  to  do  with  success 
in  any  service,  and  Commodore  Preble  seems  to 
have  had  the  faculty  of  inspiring  young  men  to  do 
their  best  without  jealousies.  There  was  not  a 
court-martial  or  duel  during  his  entire  command. 

The  means  placed  in  Preble's  hands  were  en 
tirely  inadequate,  and  the  Secretary  said  as  much. 
The  Department  left  him  to  create  his  own  force 
as  best  he  could,  and  this  he  accomplished  partly 
by  capture  and  partly  by  purchase  of  gunboats  and 
bomb- vessels.  The  base  of  supplies  was  so  remote 
and  the  Navy  Department  so  poorly  organized  to 
meet  the  constant  needs  of  the  squadron  that 
Preble  often  had  great  difficulty  in  obtaining  pro 
visions.  Everything  had  to  go  out  from  home,  on 
account  of  the  great  scarcity  in  the  Mediterranean, 
where  the  English  and  French  ships  were  strug 
gling  for  supremacy.  The  surgeon  reported  that 


82  THE   FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

many  of  the  men  were  on  the  sick  list  because 
they  were  insufficiently  clad,  and  much  of  the  food 
which  reached  them  from  home  was  spoiled.  Add 
to  this  the  fact  that  the  United  States  had  no 
recognized  position  abroad,  no  reciprocity  treaties 
with  foreign  countries,  and  that  drafts  were  diffi 
cult  to  negotiate,  and  we  get  some  idea  of  the  ob 
stacles  which  confronted  our  ships  four  thousand 
miles  away  from  their  own  ports  with  very  irregu 
lar  communication.  The  wonder  is  that  they  ac 
complished  anything.  All  of  them  were  short  of 
men,  and  contained  a  great  many  foreigners  in 
their  complements. 

Some  light  is  thrown  on  the  impressment  con 
troversy  with  England  by  the  enlistment  of  the 
Constitution's  crew.  Preble  had  had  great  dif 
ficulty  in  obtaining  seamen,  as  the  government 
would  not  pay  as  much  wages  as  could  be  earned 
in  the  merchant-service,  and  the  men  whom  he  did 
engage  were  principally  foreigners.  He  wrote  to 
the  Department,  "I  do  not  believe  that  I  have 
twenty  native  American  sailors  on  board."  The 
Philadelphia  was  about  as  badly  off,  and  we  find 
Bainbridge  after  her  capture  by  the  Tripolitans 
suggesting  to  Preble  the  propriety  of  allowing 
Nelson  to  claim  the  English  subjects  among  her 
crew,  three  fourths  of  them  being  of  that  descrip 
tion,  in  order  to  release  them  from  captivity  and 


EDWARD   PREBLE  83 

slavery.  There  were  frequent  desertions  to  Brit 
ish  ships  of  war,  so  that  Preble  felt  himself  obliged 
to  remove  his  provisions  and  stores  from  their 
ports,  and  to  make  Syracuse  the  port  of  deposit. 

In  these  days  of  steam  the  younger  generation 
cannot  realize  the  tremendous  task  of  holding 
upon  the  blockade  both  winter  and  summer  a  lot 
of  vessels  dependent  entirely  upon  their  sails  for 
propulsion.  And  Tripoli  was  particularly  unfavor 
able  for  such  work.  The  prevailing  wind  during 
the  winter  months  was  from  the  north  and  east, 
with  an  occasional  hurricane  from  that  direction, 
making  it  exceedingly  dangerous  for  a  ship  to 
be  caught  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  shores  of 
Tunis  and  Tripoli.  The  first  indications  of  a  gale 
forced  the  ships  to  claw  off  and  to  make  easting  if 
possible.  An  extract  from  the  Constitution's  log 
shows  how  the  officers  regarded  the  coast.  "  The 
weather  to  the  northward  has  every  appearance  of 
a  strong  breeze  from  that  quarter.  A  heavy  gale 
from  the  N.  E.  or  the  N.  N.  E.  would  make  our 
situation  very  disagreeable.  It  would  expose  us 
to  an  enemy's  coast,  the  angular  position  of  which 
to  the  Northward  and  Westward  makes  it  neces 
sary  to  avoid  that  part  by  standing  to  the  East 
ward.  We  could  only  lay  the  coast  along  and  of 
course  afford  no  drift  or  leeway.  The  horrors  of 
shipwreck  added  to  irretrievable  slavery  makes  the 


84  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

coast  very  dangerous  in  the  winter.  If  any  cruises 
on  this  coast  in  a  heavy  gale  on  shore,  they  have 
no  other  safety  but  their  sails,  and  if  they  once 
lose  them,  they  lose  all  hopes  of  a  retreat." 

Before  going  into  the  Mediterranean,  Preble 
found  it  advisable  to  secure  the  Straits  for  the  free 
entrance  of  American  ships.  There  was  good 
ground  for  believing  that  the  Emperor  of  Morocco 
had  broken  the  treaty  signed  by  his  father,  as 
the  Philadelphia  on  her  way  out  had  run  across 
the  Moorish  cruiser  Mirboka  in  possession  of  an 
American  merchantman.  Bainbridge  had  taken 
them  into  Gibraltar,  where  another  cruiser,  the 
Meshouda,  was  held  by  the  squadron.  She  had 
been  captured  while  trying  to  run  the  blockade  of 
Tripoli,  but  she  was  claimed  by  the  Moors.  Preble 
determined  to  use  his  squadron  and  these  two 
prizes,  the  former  by  way  of  intimidation  and  the 
latter  for  the  purpose  of  exchange,  in  restoring 
the  ancient  amity  between  our  country  and  Mo 
rocco.  The  decision  was  wise.  Considering  the 
fact  that  all  of  his  supplies  had  to  pass  through 
the  same  way,  he  could  not  afford  to  leave  an 
enemy  in  his  rear,  and  that  too  in  the  very  neck 
of  the  bottle  which  he  was  entering. 

He  accordingly  sent  the  Philadelphia  and  the 
Vixen  to  establish  once  more  the  blockade  of  Tri 
poli,  and  he  then  crossed  over  to  Tangier  in  the 


EDWARD  PREBLE  85 

Constitution,  accompanied  by  the  Nautilus  and  the 
John  Adams,  the  last  named  under  Rodgers,  who 
had  generously  waived  his  seniority  over  Preble 
for  the  good  of  the  cause.  The  Constitution  was 
kept  cruising  between  Gibraltar  and  Tangier  and 
off  the  coast  of  Morocco  awaiting  the  arrival  of 
the  Emperor.  Her  movements  were  often  delayed 
by  unfavorable  winds,  as  a  head  wind  either  in  or 
out  of  the  Strait  rendered  navigation  difficult. 
But  the  time  came  at  last  when  Preble,  backed  by 
a  strong  show  of  force,  including  the  John  Adams 
and  the  New  York,  was  able  to  influence  the  war 
like  ruler  into  good  behavior.  A  new  treaty  was 
signed,  by  the  terms  of  which  mutual  concessions 
were  made,  but  no  tribute  was  paid. 

The  two  armed  Moorish  vessels  in  our  posses 
sion  were  returned,  and  a  United  States  merchant- 
ship  detained  in  a  port  of  Morocco  was  released. 
Good  care  was  taken  to  send  a  ship  to  see  to  the 
release,  and  a  sharp  eye  was  kept  on  the  Moors 
for  some  time  afterwards.  They  have  never  given 
us  any  trouble  since.  It  is  interesting  to  note, 
from  an  entry  in  the  Constitution's  log-book,  Pre- 
ble's  readiness  to  accept  the  alternative  of  peace 
without  asking  the  President  for  a  declaration  of 
war.  "  October  5.  At  anchor  in  Tangier  Bay. 
Men  sleeping  at  the  guns  all  night  before.  In 
the  forenoon  saw  fully  ten  thousand  Moorish  in 
habitants  marching  in  from  different  directions." 


86  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

All  of  the  ships  were  prudently  kept  ready  for 
action  until  the  Emperor's  disposition  was  ascer 
tained,  and  Preble  wrote  the  following  letter  to 
the  American  consul :  - 

U.  S.  S.  CONSTITUTION,  TANGIER  BAY, 

Six  p.  M.  Oct.  4,  1803. 

I  am  honored  with  your  communication  of  this  even 
ing.  I  shall  not  send  a  boat  on  shore  until  I  have  the 
Emperor's  permission,  but  shall  wait  your  communica 
tion  by  a  shore  boat. 

As  you  think  it  will  gratify  his  Imperial  Majesty,  I 
shall  salute  him  and  dress  ship  ;  and  if  he  is  not  dis 
posed  to  be  pacific,  /  will  salute  him  again. 

Respectfully,  E.  PREBLE. 

On  October  17,  the  ship  was  back  at  Gibraltar, 
the  last  remnants  of  the  preceding  squadron  had 
departed  for  home,  and  Preble  was  alone  to  work 
out  his  mission.  He  sailed  for  Cadiz  on  the  22d 
to  get  a  new  anchor  and  a  stream  cable,  and  to  fill 
his  casks  with  fresh  water.  On  the  return,  he 
stopped  at  Tangier  Bay  to  communicate  with  the 
consul  and  "  to  let  the  Moors  know  that  he  had 
not  forgotten  them,"  and  reached  Gibraltar  Bay 
on  November  6,  where  he  found  the  Argus. 

On  the  20th,  he  declared  Tripoli  in  a  state  of 
blockade,  and  sent  word  to  our  ministers  and  to 
several  of  our  consuls  in  Europe  that  he  had  done 
so.  Only  one  more  piece  of  business  remained 


EDWARD  PREBLE 


87 


before  he  could  proceed  to  Syracuse,  which  had 
been  selected  for  headquarters.  He  sailed  on  No 
vember  13  with  the  Nautilus  and  Argus  to  land 
Colonel  Lear  at  Algiers,  and  having  accomplished 
this  one  week  later,  he  was  free  to  sail  for  the  ren 
dezvous  on  the  22d.  On  the  24th,  he  spoke  the 
British  ship  Amazon  off  the  coast  of  Sardinia,  and 
heard  of  the  loss  of  the  frigate  Philadelphia,  and 
on  the  28th,  he  finally  came  to  anchor  in  the 


MEDITERRANEAN   PORTS 


harbor  of  Syracuse,  having  touched  at  Malta  for 
confirmation  of  the  bad  news. 

It  seemed  as  if  fate  were  against  the  expedition. 
The  loss  of  the  Philadelphia  deprived  the  squadron 
of  fully  one  third  of  its  strength.  One  of  the 
smaller  vessels  was  needed,  for  a  few  months  at 
least,  to  guard  the  Straits ;  and  Preble  thus  had 
left  the  Constitution  and  four  small  vessels.  To 
add  to  his  perplexity  the  winter  season  had  come 
on,  and  he  was  forced  by  the  dangerous  nature  of 


88  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

the  coast  to  postpone  active  operations  against  the 
city  six  or  seven  months.  In  the  mean  time  he 
made  every  effort  to  maintain  the  hazardous  block 
ade.  The  disaster  to  the  Philadelphia  occurred  on 
October  31,  two  weeks  before  Preble  left  Gibraltar 
for  the  East.  Soon  after  Bainbridge  arrived  off 
the  harbor  of  Tripoli,  he  sent  the  Vixen  in  search 
of  a  cruiser  that  had  come  out  a  few  days  before. 
He  was  thus  left  to  maintain  the  blockade  alone 
with  a  ship  entirely  too  deep  for  inshore  work.  A 
gale  of  wind  swept  him  to  the  eastward,  and,  while 
returning  before  a  fair  breeze,  he  sighted  a  large 
xebec  standing  into  Tripoli.  With  his  usual  im 
petuosity,  he  chased  her  close  inshore  within  three 
miles  of  the  town,  but  she  escaped.  In  hauling  off, 
the  Philadelphia  ran  on  a  shelving  rock,  and  her 
bow  was  lifted  from  three  to  four  feet  by  the  force 
of  the  blow.  The  position  of  this  rock  was  not 
known  to  the  Americans.  The  yards  were  braced 
aback,  and  the  guns  were  run  aft  where  the  water 
was  deeper,  in  the  attempt  to  get  her  off.  Nine  of 
the  enemy's  gunboats  came  out  at  once,  and  Cap 
tain  Bainbridge  hastened  to  have  the  forward  guns 
and  the  anchors  thrown  overboard,  but  it  was  in 
vain ;  the  case  was  absolutely  hopeless.  The  gun 
boats  had  obtained  a  position  from  which  they 
could  fire  upon  the  ship  without  a  return  fire,  and 
there  was  nothing  for  the  Americans  to  do  but  to 


Gun-Deck 


Berth-Deck 


INTERIOR   OF   THE  CONSTITUTION 


EDWARD  PREBLE  89 

surrender.  They  made  one  last  effort  by  pumping 
out  the  fresh  water,  throwing  overboard  all  heavy 
articles  and  cutting  away  the  foremast.  Still  the 
ship  stuck  hard  and  fast  on  the  reef.  Captain 
Bainbridge  then  flooded  the  magazines,  scuttled 
the  ship,  and  hauled  down  the  flag  to  save  the  lives 
of  his  crew.  Thus  22  officers  and  293  men  became 
prisoners  of  the  Dey,  and  the  Philadelphia  was 
added  to  his  possessions  a  few  days  later.  A  north 
west  gale  piled  up  the  sea  around  the  rock,  and 
the  Tripoli  tans  were  able  to  get  her  into  a  position 
from  which  she  was  easily  floated.  They  raised 
the  guns  and  proceeded  to  fit  her  for  service.  The 
loss  of  this  ship  had  a  baneful  effect  upon  the  war, 
as  it  gave  the  Dey  something  to  trade  upon  and 
put  into  his  possession  a  number  of  American 
sailors  for  ransom.  Preble  might  well  feel  dis 
tressed  and  embarrassed  at  the  very  outset  of  his 
mission.  He  never  showed  any  lack  of  confidence 
in  Bainbridge,  however,  and  throughout  his  cap 
tivity  managed  to  send  him  a  number  of  generous 
and  sympathetic  letters.  One  of  these  letters  indi 
cates  the  channel  of  communication  as  well  as  the 
good  will  he  bore  him. 

MALTA,  Jan.  23,  1804. 

You  will  receive  a  present  supply  of  money  from 
here  through  the  British  consul,  B.  McDonough,  Esq., 
forwarded  by  Mr.  Higgins. 


90  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

Any  letter  you  will  direct  to  the  care  of  William 
Higgins,  Esq.,  whom  I  have  appointed  Agent  at  this 
post  for  the  squadron  of  the  United  States  in  these  seas, 
and  I  am  confident  that  he  will  pay  you  every  attention. 
The  clothing  and  other  stores  which  ought  to  have  been 
with  you  six  weeks  since,  were  detained  by  Mr.  Pulis ; 
and  for  what  reason,  I  know  not.  Your  drafts  on  Mr. 
Higgins  will  be  duly  honored.  Keep  up  your  spirits, 
and  despair  not ;  recollect  there  's  a  sweet  little  cherub 
that  sits  up  aloft. 

May  the  Almighty  Disposer  of  all  events  aid  me  in 
my  plans  and  operations  for  the  good  of  my  country, 
and  may  you  be  liberated  by  them  is  the  hope  of 
Your  friend  who  esteems  you, 

EDWARD  PREBLE. 

The  chart  of  the  harbor  will  disclose  a  number 
of  shallows  in  the  approaches  and  a  long  line  of 
reefs  running  to  the  eastward.  The  anchorage  lies 
behind  this  barrier,  well  protected  against  westerly 
and  northerly  gales.  There  are  several  entrances, 
but  they  demand  a  good  knowledge  of  the  sur 
rounding  rocks  to  be  used  by  vessels  of  any 
draught.  Once  inside  the  line  of  shallows,  it 
would  have  been  difficult  for  a  large  ship  to  get 
out  even  with  a  chart,  and  the  only  valid  criticism 
against  Bainbridge  was  that  he  let  his  ship  be 
drawn  too  far  in.  There  was  no  survey  at  that 
time,  and  he  had  no  means  of  knowing  the  coast. 


EDWARD  PREBLE  91 

The  sounding  lead  was  kept  going,  and  the  Phila 
delphia  was  in  six  or  seven  fathoms  of  water  just 
before  she  struck.  Captain  Bainbridge  has  always 
been  held  blameless  for  an  accident  that  was  bit 
terly  expiated  in  eighteen  months'  captivity  under 
horrible  conditions. 

As  an  example  of  the  difficulties  in  the  mainte 
nance  of  communication  between  the  flagship  and 
the  other  members  of  the  squadron,  the  voyage  of 
the  Vixen  to  the  westward  may  be  cited.  She  was 
at  Malta  when  news  of  the  Philadelphia's  loss 
reached  her.  Lieutenant  Smith  immediately  sailed 
for  Gibraltar  to  notify  Commodore  Preble,  but  in 
the  stress  of  heavy  weather  probably  passed  him 
not  far  from  Algiers.  After  twenty  days  of  con 
trary  winds,  he  had  made  good  only  one  third  of 
the  distance  to  the  Straits  and  found  himself  short 
of  provisions.  He  therefore  returned  to  Malta, 
which  he  must  have  reached  just  after  the  Consti 
tution  had  left,  and,  having  taken  on  board  pro 
visions,  sailed  for  Syracuse.  The  distance  was 
only  about  one  hundred  miles  to  the  northwest, 
and  yet  the  Vixen  was  thirty  days  getting  to  her 
anchorage.  There  is  a  constant  note  of  delay  in 
the  Constitution's  log.  She,  or  one  of  the  other 
vessels  of  the  squadron,  was  repeatedly  detained 
for  days  inside  of  the  harbor,  when  she  wanted  to 
get  out,  or  outside  when  she  wanted  to  get  in. 


92  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

Every  movement  depended  on  the  wind.  There 
was  no  limit  to  the  patience  and  perseverance  de 
manded  of  the  officers,  and  much  was  of  necessity 
left  to  the  discretion  of  the  various  commanding 
officers  when  separated  from  the  commander-in- 
chief. 


CHAPTER  VI 

CONCLUSION    OF    THE    WAR    WITH    TRIPOLI  —  SER 
VICE   IN   THE   MEDITERRANEAN 

IT  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  volume  to  give  a 
complete  account  of  the  war  with  Tripoli.  It  was 
carried  on  mainly  by  the  smaller  ships,  but  every 
expedition  was  planned  on  the  Constitution,  which 
was  kept  incessantly  active.  Preble's  plan  was 
evidently  to  seal  up  the  port  of  Tripoli  to  com 
merce  by  keeping  one  or  more  ships  constantly  on 
the  blockade ;  and,  when  he  got  everything  in 
readiness,  to  make  an  assault  on  the  walls  and 
fortifications.  The  Dey  had  accumulated  nineteen 
gunboats,  and  had  fortified  the  town  and  outlying 
regions.  He  employed  the  crew  of  the  Philadelphia 
at  the  latter  work.  On  December  17,  the  Consti 
tution  sailed  with  the  Vixen  and  the  Enterprise  on 
a  cruise,  evidently  of  observation,  after  having 
waited  four  days  to  get  out  of  the  harbor;  they 
were  finally  towed  out  by  the  squadron's  boats. 
They  stopped  at  Malta  for  dispatches,  and  then 
headed  for  the  coast  of  Tripoli.  A  Tripolitan 


94  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

ketch  was  sighted  on  the  23d,  and,  by  displaying 
English  colors  in  the  fleet,  the  Enterprise  was 
able  to  capture  her.  She  proved  to  be  the  Mas- 
tico,  carrying  blacks  as  a  present  to  the  Sultan 
of  Turkey.  Several  officers  of  distinction  on 
board  were  taken  to  the  Commodore's  table.  On 
the  24th  they  arrived  off  Tripoli,  but  a  gale 
from  the  northeast  blew  up,  and,  after  having 
beaten  about  for  four  days  in  the  triangle  formed 
by  Tripoli,  Tunis,  and  Malta,  the  Constitution  took 
the  ketch  in  tow  and  sailed  for  Syracuse.  She  re 
mained  in  port  from  January  1  to  March  1,  1804, 
but  Preble  made  a  voyage  to  Malta  in  the  Vixen 
during  the  interval.  The  smaller  ships  were  con 
stantly  coming  and  going. 

On  the  night  of  February  16,  the  Philadelphia 
was  burned  by  American  sailors  under  Decatur. 
This  expedition  had  been  planned  early  in  Decem 
ber  by  Preble.  Later  he  received  letters  from 
Bainbridge  suggesting  that  the  ship  should  be  de 
stroyed,  and  giving  him  information  about  her 
position  and  the  surrounding  batteries.  This  cor 
respondence  was  carried  on  by  the  aid  of  the 
Danish  consul,  Mr.  Nicholas  Nissen.  The  secret 
part  of  it  is  said  to  have  been  written  in  sympa 
thetic  ink.  Decatur  had  volunteered  to  go  in  with 
his  own  ship,  the  Enterprise,  and  capture  her  by 
boarding ;  and  later  Stewart  had  offered  to  cut  her 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI    95 

out  with  the  Siren.  Preble  substituted  the  ketch, 
a  duty  for  which  she  was  adapted  on  account  of 
her  general  appearance.  She  was  fitted  out  for  the 
purpose  at  Syracuse,  and  rechristened  Intrepid. 
The  destination  of  this  vessel  must  have  been  kept 
a  secret  in  the  fleet  until  the  last  moment ;  for  as 
late  as  February  1,  the  Constitution's  log  contains 
an  entry  stating  that  the  prize  was  being  fitted  for 
some  expedition  under  Decatur.  She  sailed  on 
February  2,  in  company  with  the  Siren.  Her  crew 
was  made  up  of  volunteers  from  the  Enterprise, 
Decatur's  ship,  and  five  midshipmen  from  the 
Constitution.  There  were  eleven  officers,  among 
them  Decatur,  Lawrence,  Joseph  Bainbridge,  Mor 
ris  and  Macdonough,  a  Maltese  pilot,  and  sixty- 
two  enlisted  men.  The  pilot,  Salvadore  Catalano, 
afterwards  became  a  sailing  master  in  the  United 
States  Navy.  Commodore  Morris  says  in  his 
journal  that  a  boat  with  six  men  joined  them  from 
the  Siren  before  going  in.  This  would  make  a 
crew  of  eighty  men  in  all. 

In  this  wretched  boat,  rigged  for  sixteen  oars, 
and  hardly  larger  than  a  fair-sized  sailing  yacht, 
seventy-four  men  reached  the  coast  four  days  later, 
convoyed  by  the  brig  Siren  under  the  command  of 
Charles  Stewart,  and  headed  for  a  passage  through 
the  rocks  to  the  inner  harbor. 

She  arrived  in  sight  of  the  town  on  the  afternoon 


96  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

of  the  6th,  and  anchored  off  the  entrance  at  night 
fall  ;  but  a  sudden  and  violent  gale  swept  her  to  the 
eastward,  and  both  she  and  the  Siren  had  to  ride 
out  at  sea  a  terrific  storm  that  lasted  six  days  and 
nights.  At  times  it  was  feared  that  the  Intrepid 
could  not  last  through  it;  but  the  seventh  day 
found  both  vessels  near  the  harbor,  once  more  in 
favorable  weather.  The  Siren,  well  disguised,  did 
not  approach  within  sight  of  the  coast  during  day 
light,  but  the  Intrepid  sailed  calmly  for  the  port 
as  if  on  an  ordinary  trading  voyage.  Several  of 
the  boats  of  the  Siren  were  to  join  her  before 
going  in,  but  Decatur  did  not  wait  for  them.  The 
uncertainty  of  the  weather  forbade  delay.  He  had 
made  all  his  arrangements  to  burn  the  Phila 
delphia,  and  then  to  escape  by  towing  or  rowing  the 
Intrepid  out  of  the  harbor  under  cover  of  the  dark 
ness.  Every  man  had  his  allotted  station  and  task. 
As  soon  as  the  frigate  was  taken  each  was  to  rush 
with  combustibles  to  a  specified  place.  The  greater 
part  of  the  crew  lay  hidden  behind  the  bulwarks, 
as  the  ketch  drifted  slowly  down  in  the  half  dark 
ness  of  a  new  moon  to  the  anchorage. 

It  is  well  to  stop  a  moment  to  consider  what  one 
mistake  would  have  cost  them.  The  Philadelphia 
had  a  full  crew,  all  her  guns  were  loaded,  and  she 
was  surrounded  by  Tripolitan  gunboats.  Not  one 
of  the  Americans  could  have  escaped  if  the  slightest 


CONCLUSION   OF  THE  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI    97 


suspicion  had  been  aroused  before  boarding;  yet 
they  went  boldly  on  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
Philadelphia,  and,  when  hailed,  the  Maltese  pilot 
replied  that  the  ketch  was  a  Maltese  trader  that 
had  lost  her  anchors  in  the  storm.  They  asked 
for  a  line  and  permission  to  tie  up  to  the  ship  over 
night.  They  lay  only  forty  yards  from  the  port 
battery,  and  in  the  range  of  every  gun  at  this 


TRIPOLI   HARBOR 

time.  While  Decatur  coolly  sent  a  boat  to  make 
fast  to  the  fore  chains  of  the  Philadelphia,  some  of 
the  latter's  crew  came  out  with  a  line  from  the 
stern,  and  assisted  them  in  making  fast  there  also. 
A  few  minutes  of  cautious  pulling  on  the  bow  line, 
then  a  wild  cry  of  "Americanos!  "  from  a  Turk 
who  was  looking  over  the  bulwarks,  and  the  Amer 
icans  were  clambering  up  the  side  in  a  scramble 


98  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

to  see  who  would  be  first  on  the  frigate's  deck. 
In  a  mad  panic  the  crew  were  either  cut  down  or 
driven  into  the  sea.  Everything  worked  exactly 
as  Decatur  had  planned  it,  and  within  twenty 
minutes  the  ship  was  ablaze.  His  men  were  fairly 
driven  back  into  their  boat  by  the  flames. 

The  return  was  even  more  perilous  than  the 
entrance,  as  all  the  forts  and  gunboats  had  taken 
the  alarm.  Their  shots  were  falling  around  the 
Intrepid  and  dashing  the  spray  into  the  faces  of 
her  men,  as  she  swept  down  the  harbor  under  six 
teen  long  oars.  The  flames  of  the  Philadelphia, 
the  roaring  of  her  guns  as  they  went  off  one  by 
one  in  the  intense  heat,  the  blinding  flashes  of  the 
Turkish  guns,  and  the  uproar  in  the  town,  made 
the  night  one  never  to  be  forgotten ;  a  fit  ending 
to  what  Nelson  pronounced  "the  most  bold  and 
daring  act  of  the  age."  Decatur  rejoined  Stewart, 
who  was  waiting  for  him  outside,  and  the  two  set 
sail  for  Syracuse. 

The  log  of  the  Constitution  has  the  following 
entry  concerning  this  event :  — 

SUNDAY,  Feby.  19.  —  A.  M.  At  10  appeared  in  the 
offing  the  United  States  Brig  Syren  and  the  Intrepid. 
The  wind  being  light  we  sent  boats  out  to  assist  towing 
in.  At  £  past  10  they  passed  through  our  squadron  in 
triumph  receiving  three  cheers  as  they  passed.  Lieu 
tenant  Stewart  of  the  Syren  and  Lieutenant  Decatur  of 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI    99 

the  Intrepid  waited  on  the  Commodore  and  informed 
him  they  had  passed  into  the  harbor  of  Tripoli  agreeably 
to  his  orders,  burnt  and  totally  destroyed  the  late  United 
States  Frigate  Philadelphia.  The  business  being  so 
well  planned  not  a  man  was  killed  or  wounded  on  our 
side.  The  Tripolitans  had  20  killed,  the  others  made 
their  escape  by  jumping  overboard  after  the  ship  was 
afire. 

The  officer  who  wrote  the  log  was  evidently  not 
well  informed,  as  Stewart  did  not  go  in  with  De- 
catur.  If  that  was  the  original  plan,  the  conditions 
of  the  weather  did  not  favor  it. 

This  deed  deserves  to  rank  high  in  the  annals  of 
our  Navy,  not  so  much  because  it  displayed  an 
uncommon  courage,  but  rather  because  of  the  skill 
and  coolness  which  made  it  a  complete  success. 
Few  American  sailors  are  without  daring  to  under 
take  a  hazardous  service,  yet  few  men  have  the 
necessary  presence  of  mind  to  carry  it  through 
without  a  hitch.  Three  times  the  expedition  was 
recovered  from  failure  by  the  exercise  of  the  good 
judgment  which  marks  Decatur's  career. 

The  extraordinary  activity  of  the  Constitution 
during  the  spring  and  summer  of  1804  was  almost 
like  the  work  of  a  modern  steamer.  She  left  Syra 
cuse  on  the  1st  of  March,  and  had  put  to  sea  nine 
teen  times  from  that  or  other  ports  by  the  end  of 
July,  being  under  sail  half  the  time.  March  27, 


100  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

Preble  was  at  Tripoli,  and  sent  a  flag  of  truce  in 
with  letters  for  the  captive  officers.  He  proposed 
an  exchange  of  prisoners,  but  failed  to  secure  the 
consent  of  the  Dey.  Permission  was  given  to  send 
provisions  and  clothing  for  the  captives.  Three 
days  later,  the  ship  was  caught  in  a  heavy  north 
east  gale  and  swept  to  the  westward  along  the 
coast.  During  the  month  of  April  she  was  twice 
in  the  harbor  of  Tunis  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  Dey 
and  his  navy.  Toward  the  end  of  the  month  the 
Siren  captured  a  Tripolitan  brig  used  for  carrying 
military  stores.  She  was  refitted  and  called  the 
Scourge.  Preble  now  made  a  voyage  to  Naples 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  money  and  additional 
gunboats.  He  succeeded  in  getting  an  order  from 
the  King  for  gunboats  and  bomb-vessels  "  under 
the  title  of  a  friendly  loan."  They  were  found  at 
Messina,  from  which  port  the  Constitution  sailed 
in  convoy  of  six  gun-vessels  and  two  mortar-boats 
with  their  ammunition.  Having  reached  Syracuse 
and  left  them  to  be  gotten  ready  for  service,  she 
sailed  successively  to  Malta,  Tripoli,  and  Tunis. 
She  touched  at  the  last  place  to  ascertain  why  so 
many  Tunisian  cruisers  had  put  to  sea.  On  the 
25th  of  June  they  were  back  in  Syracuse,  where 
Preble  addressed  himself  seriously  to  preparations 
for  an  attack  on  the  ships  and  fortifications  of 
Tripoli.  He  sailed  for  that  purpose  on  July  14, 


r 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI    101 

with  the  gun-vessels  and  mortar-boats  in  tow,  and 
reached  the  coast  on  the  24th. 

As  he  was  already  short  of  men  for  his  own 
ships,  the  boats  borrowed  from  Naples  were  in  part 
manned  by  Neapolitans  shipped  for  the  occasion. 
Not  one  of  these  vessels  exceeded  thirty  tons  bur 
den,  and  they  were  but  poor  craft,  fit  only  for  use 
in  a  smooth  sea  and  needing  much  "  nursing  "  at 
all  times.  Each  of  the  bomb-vessels  mounted  one 
13-inch  brass  mortar,  and  had  a  crew  of  forty 
men,  and  each  of  the  gunboats  carried  a  long  24- 
pounder  in  the  bow.  The  defenses  of  the  Dey 
were  very  formidable.  The  city  was  walled,  and 
the  shore  batteries  mounted  119  guns,  many  of 
heavy  calibre.  In  the  harbor  were  nineteen  gun 
boats,  two  large  galleys,  two  schooners  and  a  brig, 
all  well  armed  and  manned.  The  Tripolitan  force 
on  shore  and  afloat  numbered  upwards  of  25,000, 
to  oppose  the  American  squadron  carrying  1060 
men.  Preble  had  in  all  one  frigate,  three  brigs, 
three  schooners,  six  gunboats,  and  two  mortar- 
boats.  The  Constitution  carried  at  this  time  thirty 
long  24-pounders  on  the  gun-deck,  and  six  long  26- 
pounders  and  some  lighter  guns  on  the  forecastle 
and  quarter-deck. 

The  work  for  which  the  squadron  had  been 
patiently  preparing  during  the  past  ten  months  had 
come  at  last,  and  they  went  at  it  with  ferocious 


102  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

energy.  They  made  five  attacks  between  July  25 
and  September  4,  in  three  of  which  the  Constitu 
tion  took  part ;  in  fact,  they  were  pounding  away 
at  the  forts  and  gunboats  whenever  the  weather 
would  permit.  On  the  24th,  the  water -casks 
of  the  smaller  boats  were  all  filled  from  the 
flagship  as  a  precautionary  measure,  since  they 
carried  only  six  days'  supply.  The  first  assault 
was  planned  for  the  next  day,  but  the  wind 
proved  unfavorable.  Again,  on  the  28th,  they 
were  headed  in  and  anchored  within  two  and  a  half 
miles  of  the  town.  The  plan  was  to  tow  the  gun 
boats,  arranged  in  two  divisions,  and  the  mortar- 
boats  as  close  to  the  shore  as  it  was  possible  for 
the  heavier  vessels  to  go,  and  then  to  cast  them  off 
and  cover  them  with  the  squadron's  guns  for  an 
attack  upon  the  Tripolitan  gunboats  inshore. 
With  this  attack  in  view  the  ships  had  anchored, 
but  a  sudden  change  of  wind,  which  developed 
into  a  northeast  gale,  drove  them  to  sea  for  several 
days.  On  the  31st,  the  gale  had  become  so 
violent  as  to  split  the  Constitution's  foresail  and 
main  topsail,  although  she  was  under  double  reefs, 
and  the  gunboats  were  in  great  danger. 

The  first  attack  was  finally  carried  out  on  the 
afternoon  of  August  4,  with  the  wind  east  by  south. 
The  whole  fleet  stood  in  to  point-blank  range  of 
the  batteries  and  shipping.  Their  position  is 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI    103 

shown  on  the  chart  just  outside  the  barrier  reef 
and  nearly  north  of  the  two  western  entrances. 
The  six  gunboats  then  advanced  to  attack  the 
Tripolitan  gunboats,  twenty-one  of  which  had  come 
outside  in  three  divisions.  The  action  began  by  a 
bomb-vessel  throwing  a  shell  into  the  town,  and 
lasted  about  two  hours,  when  the  ships  were  com 
pelled  to  haul  off  by  a  change  of  wind. 

The  furious  charge  of  the  small  vessels  upon 
three  and  a  half  times  their  number  soon  unde 
ceived  the  Tripolitans,  who  had  come  out  in  the 
belief  that  the  Americans  would  not  fight.  The 
conflicts  were  like  the  traditional  old  sea-fights, 
hand  to  hand  on  the  decks  of  the  enemy,  who  fought 
desperately  enough  when  boarded  by  the  Americans. 
They  were  driven  back  into  the  harbor  with  severe 
loss  in  killed  and  wounded.  Three  of  their  gun 
boats  were  brought  away  with  fifty-two  prisoners, 
some  of  whom  died  of  their  wounds ;  forty-four 
had  been  killed  outright  before  the  boats  were 
surrendered.  The  American  vessels  had  suffered 
only  slightly  in  killed  and  wounded.  James  De- 
catur  was  treacherously  killed  in  the  act  of  board 
ing  a  Tripolitan  who  had  surrendered  to  him. 
Three  boats  were  sunk  in  the  harbor,  and  as  many 
more  had  their  decks  nearly  cleared  of  men.  A 
number  of  shells  burst  in  the  town  and  batteries, 
and  a  minaret  was  knocked  down.  The  inhabitants 


104  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

were  panic-stricken.  The  Constitution  fired  262 
round  shot,  beside  grape,  double-head,  and  canister. 
She  received  some  damage  in  her  rigging  and  sails 
from  the  Tripolitan  fire,  and  a  24-pound  shot  struck 
her  mainmast,  but  the  squadron  came  out  with 
remarkably  little  injury  considering  the  serious 
nature  of  the  action  and  the  effect  accomplished. 

The  wounded  were  all  carried  on  board  the  Con 
stitution  for  the  surgeon's  care,  and  the  prisoners 
were  confined  on  board  of  her.  In  his  report 
Commodore  Preble  speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of 
Decatur  and  Trippe  and  of  all  the  officers  and 
crews.  Yet  he  was  greatly  disappointed  in  not 
having  destroyed  the  whole  fleet.  There  is  a  story 
that  when  Decatur  came  over  the  side,  he  walked 
joyfully  up  to  Preble  on  the  quarter-deck  and  said, 
"  Well,  Commodore,  I  have  brought  you  out  three 
of  the  gunboats."  Preble  turned  on  him  like  a 
flash,  and  taking  him  by  the  collar  replied,  "  Aye, 
sir,  why  did  you  not  bring  me  out  more  ?  "  and 
then  walked  into  his  cabin.  He  sent  for  Decatur 
in  a  few  minutes  and  made  ample  amends  for  his 
rage  and  injustice.  They  were  always  warm  friends 
afterwards. 

The  stubborn  nature  of  the  fighting  is  exhibited 
by  two  stories  told  in  footnotes  of  the  Naval 
Chronicle.  Decatur  boarded  a  gunboat,  it  is  said, 
to  avenge  his  brother's  death.  He  made  straight 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI    105 

for  her  commander,  a  gigantic  Turk,  greatly  his 
superior  in  size  and  strength,  and  in  the  struggle 
which  ensued  broke  his  sword.  The  two  seized 
each  other  in  a  violent  scuffle,  in  which  Decatur 
was  thrown.  The  Turk  drew  a  dagger  to  stab 
him,  but  he  managed  to  get  hold  of  a  pistol  which 
he  had  in  the  right-hand  pocket  of  his  trousers. 
By  twisting  it  around  and  cocking  it  inside  of  the 
pocket  he  succeeded  in  firing  it  and  killing  his  an 
tagonist.  During  the  struggle  one  of  the  Tripol- 
itans  rushed  forward  to  save  his  captain,  and  aimed 
a  blow  at  Decatur's  head,  but  a  young  man  by  the 
name  of  Reuben  James,  who  had  lost  the  use  of 
his  arms  by  severe  wounds,  threw  his  body  for 
ward  and  took  the  blow  intended  for  Decatur  on 
his  own  head.  He  lived  to  receive  a  pension  from 
the  government  thirty  years  later. 

Lieutenant  Trippe,  with  Midshipman  Henley 
and  nine  men,  boarded  one  of  the  gunboats  manned 
by  thirty-six  men.  Against  desperate  resistance 
he  captured  the  boat,  after  having  killed  fourteen 
Tripolitans  and  taken  twenty-two  prisoners. 
Trippe  received  eleven  sabre  wounds,  but  not  an 
American  was  killed. 

The  next  three  days  were  spent  in  refitting  and 
getting  ready  for  another  attack;  the  three  Tri- 
politan  gunboats  were  manned  and  added  to  the 
attacking  squadron.  A  French  privateer  which 


106  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

had  come  out  was  prevailed  upon  to  carry  fourteen 
badly  wounded  Tripolitans  on  shore,  where  their 
friends  might  take  care  of  them.  The  vessel 
brought  out  a  letter  from  the  French  consul  on  the 
morning  of  the  7th,  saying  that  since  the  attack 
the  Dey  was  disposed  to  accept  reasonable  terms, 
and  advising  Commodore  Preble  to  send  in  a  flag 
of  truce.  This  was  declined,  as  the  white  flag  was 
not  hoisted  on  the  Dey's  castle,  and  the  second 
attack  began  forthwith.  The  direction  of  the 
wind  and  current  rendered  it  inadvisable  to  engage 
the  batteries  with  the  Constitution  ;  so  that  all  the 
work  was  done  by  the  smaller  vessels.  The  bomb- 
vessels  were  stationed  to  the  west  out  of  range  of 
the  batteries,  where  they  could  throw  shells  into 
the  town ;  and  the  gunboats,  propelled  by  oars  and 
sails,  made  an  attack  upon  the  western  batteries. 
Five  hundred  and  forty-eight  shots  were  fired,  and 
the  town  must  have  suffered  great  damage.  The 
Tripolitan  ships  had  remained  in  the  harbor  behind 
the  shelter  of  the  rocks.  Early  in  the  action  one 
of  the  prize  gunboats  was  blown  up  by  an  ex 
plosion  of  her  magazine,  which  had  been  penetrated 
by  a  hot  shot  from  the  batteries.  Lieutenant  Cald- 
well,  Midshipman  Dorsey,  and  eight  men  were 
killed.  The  others  escaped.  Midshipman  Spence 
gained  great  credit  for  remaining  on  board  while 
the  boat  was  sinking,  to  complete  the  loading  of  a 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI    107 

gun  which  he  had  been  superintending  when  the 
explosion  occurred.  He  and  a  few  survivors  actu 
ally  fired  the  gun  as  the  vessel  sank,  and  escaped 
to  the  nearest  boat.  Mr.  Spence  did  not  know 
how  to  swim,  and  had  to  keep  himself  afloat  with 
an  oar. 

The  squadron  hauled  off  at  six  o'clock,  the 
Argus  having  been  sent  in  chase  of  a  strange  sail. 
This  sail  proved  to  be  the  John  Adams,  Captain 
Chauncey,  just  out  from  the  United  States  with 
the  news  that  the  government  had  decided  to  as 
semble  an  overwhelming  force,  and  that  several 
frigates  were  shortly  to  join  under  command  of 
Commodore  Samuel  Barren,  who  was  to  supersede 
Preble.  As  the  John  Adams  did  not  have  her  gun- 
carriage  she  was  of  no  use  to  the  squadron  except 
ing  in  the  supply  of  additional  men.  Her  crew 
were  distributed  around.  Preble  waited  eleven 
days  for  the  appearance  of  his  successor,  and  then 
concluded  to  make  another  attack,  but  a  northeast 
gale  forced  him  to  stand  off  the  coast  for  greater 
safety.  After  four  days  of  buffeting  in  a  heavy  sea, 
the  ships  stood  in  again  and  anchored  six  miles 
from  Tripoli.  During  the  stay  on  the  coast  the 
small  ships  had  received  their  fresh  water  and 
supplies  from  the  Constitution,  and  now  arrived  a 
supply-ship  from  Malta  with  water  and  live-stock, 
much  to  the  gratification  of  all  the  crews. 


108  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

On  August  10,  the  Dey  indicated  a  disposition  to 
treat  by  permitting  a  white  flag  to  be  hoisted  by 
the  French  consul.  A  boat  was  sent  in  under  a 
flag  of  truce,  but  the  terras  offered,  a  ransom  of 
$500  for  each  captive  and  no  tribute  for  terminat 
ing  the  war,  were  not  satisfactory  to  Preble,  in 
spite  of  the  tremendous  reduction  over  any  of  the 
previous  terms.  He  authorized  the  French  consul 
to  offer  1100,000  in  a  lump  sum,  but  this  was  not 
acceptable  to  the  Dey. 

On  the  24th,  the  squadron  drew  close  to  the 
harbor,  intending  to  attack  the  town  and  ship 
ping  at  night.  It  fell  calm  at  midnight,  and  the 
smaller  vessels  had  to  be  towed  in.  The  bom 
bardment  lasted  from  two  o'clock  until  daylight, 
principally  from  the  mortar-boats,  but  little  dam 
age  was  done.  One  shell  passed  through  the  wall 
of  the  prison  and  struck  the  bed  in  which  Captain 
Bainbridge  was  sleeping.  A  heap  of  stones  and 
mortar  fell  on  him,  but  he  escaped  with  only  slight 
injury. 

For  a  few  days  the  weather  was  again  unfavor 
able  for  operations.  On  the  night  of  the  28th,  the 
ships  moved  in,  prepared  for  another  early  morn 
ing  attack.  The  Constitution  anchored  about  one 
mile  and  a  half  to  the  northeast  of  the  entrance, 
while  the  smaller  vessels  went  close  to  the  rocks 
and  opened  a  heavy  fire  upon  everything  in  sight. 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI    109 

The  Tripolitans  returned  the  fire  without  much 
effect,  as  the  night  doubtless  covered  the  move 
ments  of  our  boats.  At  daylight,  all  vessels  were 
recalled,  and  the  Constitution  stood  in  alone,  under 
a  heavy  fire  from  the  batteries,  to  within  400 
yards  of  the  rocks.  Preble  wrote  in  his  report 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  "  We  continued  run 
ning  in,  until  we  were  within  musket  shot  of  the 
Crown  and  Mole  batteries,  when  we  brought  to, 
and  fired  upwards  of  three  hundred  round  shot, 
besides  grape  and  canister,  into  the  town,  Bashaw's 
Castle,  and  batteries.  We  silenced  the  castle  and 
two  of  the  batteries  for  some  time.  At  a  quarter 
past  six,  the  gunboats  being  all  out  of  shot  and  in 
tow,  I  hauled  off,  after  having  been  three  quarters 
of  an  hour  in  close  action.  The  gunboats  fired 
upwards  of  four  hundred  round  shot,  besides  grape 
and  canister,  with  good  effect.  A  large  Tunisian 
galliot  was  sunk  in  the  mole  —  a  Spanish  Sei 
gnior  received  considerable  damage.  The  Tripoline 
galleys  and  gunboats  lost  many  men  and  were 
much  cut." 

The  Constitution  suffered  in  her  rigging,  which 
was  much  cut  up,  and  some  grape-shot  was  found 
sticking  in  the  hull,  but  not  a  man  was  hurt. 
Shortly  after  six  o'clock,  as  stated  in  Preble's  re 
port,  he  hauled  off  to  repair  damages  and  prepare 
the  fleet  for  another  attack.  Captain  Chauncey, 


110  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

of  the  John  Adams,  served  during  this  action  and 
the  next  one  on  the  deck  of  the  Constitution.  At 
noon  all  the  ships  were  anchored  about  five  miles 
to  the  eastward  of  Tripoli. 

They  spent  the  next  five  days  getting  water  and 
stores  on  board  and  otherwise  putting  everything 
in  order.  On  September  3,  with  the  wind  east 
by  north,  the  gunboats  advanced  against  the  Tri- 
politan  fleet,  which  by  rare  judgment  had  moved 
up  the  harbor  to  the  windward  of  the  entrance,  and 
near  Fort  English.  As  our  ships  could  not  beat 
up  the  harbor  to  attack  them,  the  smaller  vessels 
were  all  employed  close  to  the  rocks,  firing  at 
them.  There  was  no  boarding  as  in  some  of  the 
earlier  contests.  The  bomb-vessels  and  the  Con 
stitution  attacked  the  town  and  the  batteries.  The 
latter  fired  eleven  broadsides.  The  action  lasted 
about  an  hour  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  wind 
shifted  to  the  northward  and  began  increasing. 
The  squadron  was  accordingly  withdrawn,  having 
disabled  a  number  of  the  enemy's  galleys  and  gun 
boats,  and  thrown  a  number  of  shells  into  the  bat 
teries  and  town. 

Preble  at  once  began  preparing  his  ships  for  an 
other  attack,  although  the  weather  was  unsettled 
and  he  was  getting  short  of  ammunition.  On 
the  night  of  September  4,  occurred  that  disaster 
which  will  always  envelop  the  end  of  the  Intrepid 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI    111 

in  a  melancholy  mystery.  Commodore  Preble  had 
been  contemplating  for  some  time  the  possibility 
of  sending  a  fire-ship  into  the  harbor  to  destroy 
the  enemy's  shipping.  Richard  Somers,  the  com 
mander  of  the  Nautilus,  volunteered  for  the  ser 
vice,  and  for  several  days  had  been  directing 
the  preparation  of  the  Intrepid.  One  hundred 
barrels  of  powder  were  placed  below  her  deck, 
upon  which  one  hundred  and  fifty  fixed  shells  were 


TRIPOLI  FORTIFICATIONS,   FROM  SKETCH   MADE   BY   HENRY 
WADSWORTH 

arranged.  A  fuse  calculated  to  burn  fifteen  min 
utes  was  led  aft  to  a  box  filled  with  combustibles. 
The  intention  was  to  take  the  ketch  into  the  har 
bor  on  the  first  dark  night  that  afforded  them  a 
favorable  breeze,  and  to  explode  her  among  the 
shipping.  Two  swift  boats  were  carried  in  tow  to 
provide  for  the  escape  of  the  crew,  consisting  of 
Captain  Somers  and  four  men  from  the  Nautilus, 
with  Lieutenants  Henry  Wadsworth  and  Joseph 
Israel,  and  six  men  from  the  Constitution.  At 
eight  o'clock  on  September  4,  the  Intrepid  was 


112  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

under  sail  standing  for  the  western  entrance.  The 
Argus,  Vixen,  and  Nautilus  accompanied  her  as 
far  as  the  rocks.  The  first  lieutenant  of  the  Nau 
tilus  was  the  last  person  to  speak  to  Somers.  The 
Intrepid  was  last  seen  standing  into  the  harbor 
about  a  musket-shot  from  the  mole,  as  her  sails 
were  swallowed  up  in  the  darkness.  Soon  after, 
the  batteries,  which  had  taken  alarm,  began  firing 
in  all  directions  from  which  danger  might  be  appre 
hended.  To  those  waiting  outside  for  the  return 
of  their  comrades,  there  was  only  a  short  period 
of  breathless  suspense.  Then,  before  the  Intrepid 
could  possibly  have  reached  her  intended  position, 
there  was  a  blinding  flash,  followed  by  a  frightful 
concussion  which  shook  even  the  American  ships 
outside  and  awed  the  batteries  into  silence.  For 
one  instant  the  mast  and  sail  outlined  in  fire  were 
lifted  into  the  air  and  then  fell  back  into  darkness. 
The  three  ships  at  the  entrance  waited  all  night, 
their  crews  listening  in  vain  for  the  oars  of  the 
returning  boats.  They  never  came  back,  and  from 
that  day  to  this  the  cause  of  the  explosion  has  been 
a  matter  of  conjecture.  Some  of  the  officers  held 
that  the  Intrepid  grounded  near  one  of  the  batteries 
and  was  blown  up  by  a  shot  penetrating  the  maga 
zine  ;  others,  that  a  light  was  dropped  into  the 
powder  by  some  one  running  to  set  off  the  combus 
tibles.  A  light  moving  rapidly  along  the  deck  was 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI    113 

seen  just  before  the  explosion.  Commodore  Preble 
believed  that  the  ketch  was  intercepted  by  some 
gunboats  which  were  seen  lurking  near  the  rocks 
at  sunset.  His  theory  was  that  they  suddenly 
boarded  her  without  suspecting  her  to  be  a  fire- 
ship,  and  that  Somers,  preferring  death  to  surren 
der  and  failure,  put  a  match  to  the  magazine.  He 


KETCH 


based  this  belief  upon  the  known  determination  of 
Somers  and  his  officers  neither  to  be  taken  nor  to 
let  the  powder  and  shot  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy,  and  upon  the  disappearance  of  one  of 
the  enemy's  largest  gunboats.  Several  others  were 
observed  to  be  very  much  shattered  the  next  day. 
Captain  Bainbridge  was  afterwards  permitted  to 


114  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

view  certain  mutilated  bodies  which  drifted  on 
shore,  but  he  could  not  identify  them.  Whatever 
happened,  the  name  of  Somers  will  always  remain 
a  watchword  in  the  Navy  and  a  symbol  of  the 
self-renunciation  and  love  which  ennoble  humanity. 
He  and  his  companions  died  in  early  manhood  un 
sullied,  and  left  behind  them  imperishable  names. 
Some  light  is  shed  on  the  tragedy  by  a  story 
given  in  General  Eaton's  memoirs.  He  was  in 
Egypt  during  the  winter  following  Treble's  cam 
paign,  organizing  the  land  attack  against  Tripoli. 
An  Arnaut  Turk  who  had  been  in  the  service  of 
the  Dey  and  was  friendly  to  the  Tripolitan  cause 
said  to  him :  "  Tripoli  has  lost  many  men  in  the 
different  attacks  of  the  Americans  last  summer ; 
the  town  was  much  damaged  and  the  inhabitants 
under  such  a  state  of  consternation  that  nobody 
slept  in  the  city  and  that  no  business  was  done 
there."  As  Eaton  continues,  "  He  confirmed  the 
account  of  the  fire-ship,  Infernal,  being  blown  up  by 
Captain  Somers  after  having  been  boarded  by  two 
row  galleys.  Stating  this  fact,  the  fellow  wept. 
He  observed  that  the  war  had  been  unfortunate 
to  the  cruisers.  They  had  been  led  to  believe 
that  the  Americans  were  all  merchantmen,  and  that 
they  should  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  go  out  and 
bring  them  in ;  but  they  found  them  devils  from 
whom  nothing  was  to  be  gained  in  war." 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI    115 

Thus  ended  the  war,  for  there  were  no  more 
attacks.  Bad  weather  and  the  uncertain  season 
drove  the  squadron  off  the  coast.  On  the  6th  of 
September,  Preble  sent  all  except  the  Constitution, 
Argus,  and  Vixen  to  Syracuse,  remaining  himself 
on  the  blockade  to  await  the  arrival  of  his  succes 
sor.  On  the  10th,  the  frigates  President  and  Con 
stellation  made  their  appearance,  and  Commodore 
Barron  took  command.  Two  days  later,  while 
Preble  was  still  on  board,  the  Constitution  chased 
and  took  two  prizes  laden  with  wheat  for  Tripoli. 
The  city  was  said  to  be  in  a  state  bordering  on 
starvation.  The  relief  of  Commodore  Preble  was 
not  intended  as  a  reflection  upon  him,  although  it 
did  look  like  ingratitude  to  supersede  him  and  to 
give  his  successor  four  additional  frigates  just  as 
he  had  licked  the  Dey  into  shape  for  a  reasonable 
peace.  That  he  felt  it  seriously  is  shown  by  his 
journal,  but  he  never  made  any  complaint.  The 
news  traveled  slowly,  in  those  days ;  and  the  relief 
ships  had  been  commissioned  in  consequence  of  the 
loss  of  the  Philadelphia  months  before  the  result 
of  the  blockade  was  known.  Congress  voted  him 
the  nation's  thanks  and  a  gold  medal,  emblematic 
of  the  attacks  on  the  town,  batteries,  and  naval 
force  of  Tripoli,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
wrote  him  a  letter  expressing  unqualified  approba 
tion  of  his  work. 


116  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

The  singular  good  luck  of  the  Constitution  fol 
lowed  her  through  the  whole  of  this  war.  She 
suffered  comparatively  little  injury  and  lost  not 
one  man  in  the  five  assaults  upon  the  Tripolitan 
batteries.  The  only  man  wounded  on  her  decks 
was  a  marine,  whose  arm  was  shattered  during  the 
first  attack. 

The  approach  of  winter  decided  Commodore 
Barron  to  follow  out  Preble's  plan  of  keeping  up 
a  continuous  blockade  with  two  or  three  ships,  and 
to  hold  the  others  at  Syracuse  until  spring.  The 
Constellation  and  the  Congress,  which  had  just 
arrived  under  Captain  John  Rodgers,  were  accord 
ingly  left  on  the  station.  On  the  14th  of  Septem 
ber,  the  Constitution  proceeded  to  Malta,  and 
there  Preble  left  her  with  the  heartfelt  regret  of 
everybody  in  the  squadron.  The  officers  even 
went  so  far  as  to  address  him  a  letter  of  regret, 
which  all  signed.  He  joined  the  John  Adams, 
and,  after  winding  up  his  affairs,  sailed  for  home 
in  December. 

Decatur,  who  had  been  promoted  to  captain  in 
recognition  of  his  gallant  exploit  on  the  Philadel 
phia,  was  transferred  to  the  command  of  the  Con 
stitution,  but  he  kept  her  only  about  seven  weeks. 
On  November  6,  he  exchanged  with  Rodgers,  who 
was  his  senior,  to  the  Congress,  a  smaller  ship. 
The  Constitution  was  eighty  men  short,  and  she 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI    117 

required  some  new  sails,  a  cable,  and  a  bowsprit. 
It  was  therefore  thought  advisable  to  send  her  to 
Lisbon  to  recruit  and  repair.  She  sailed  on  No 
vember  27,  and  arrived  in  Lisbon  on  December 
28,  having  encountered  head  winds.  Nearly  six 
weeks  were  consumed  in  procuring  the  necessary 
outfit,  and  she  then  returned,  stopping  at  Tangier 
to  impress  the  Moors.  We  find  her  on  the  block 
ade  once  more  in  the  early  part  of  the  month  of 
March,  1805,  where  she  reappeared  at  intervals 
until  the  negotiations  for  peace  began.  On  the 
24th  of  April,  she  captured  a  Tripolitan  privateer 
having  two  Neapolitan  prizes,  and  on  May  22  she 
was  made  the  flagship  by  Captain  Rodgers,  who 
had  succeeded  to  the  chief  command.  Commodore 
Barron  was  forced  by  serious  illness  to  leave  the 
squadron. 

Colonel  Lear  came  on  from  Algiers  in  May,  and 
a  treaty  was  drawn  up  in  the  cabin  of  the  Consti 
tution  by  which  the  tribute  to  Tripoli  ceased, 
peace  was  declared  without  indemnity,  and  the 
American  captives  were  surrendered  on  the  pay 
ment  of  $60,000.  The  Spanish  consul  represented 
the  Dey  in  the  earlier  negotiations,  but  the  Danish 
consul,  who  had  been  so  tireless  in  his  efforts  to 
aid  the  American  captives,  finally  concluded  them. 
The  Dey  was  probably  influenced  towards  peace 
with  America  by  the  successful  land  attack  made 


118  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

by  his  brother  and  General  Eaton  against  Derne. 
He  himself  was  a  usurper  who  had  driven  his  bro 
ther  out  some  years  before,  and  now  no  doubt  he 
feared  a  turn  of  fortune's  wheel. 

A  figure  appears  from  time  to  time  in  connection 
with  the  war  that  deserves  notice.  It  was  Sidi 
Mahomet  Dghies,  the  Dey's  minister,  a  man  of 
great  nobility.  He  has  been  described  as  a  culti 
vated  man  of  the  world.  He  did  much  to  make 
the  lot  of  Bainbridge  and  his  men  less  hard,  and 
he  opposed  the  war  without  success.  Another  man 
who  has  not  been  mentioned  is  Nathaniel  Haraden, 
the  sailing-master  of  the  Constitution.  It  was  his 
duty  to  look  after  the  sails  and  rigging  when  the 
ship  went  into  action.  He  earned  the  nickname 
of  "  Jumping  Billy,"  from  his  frequent  use  of  the 
purchase  by  that  name.  He  was  a  native  of  Massa 
chusetts,  but  had  been  impressed  and  had  served  a 
long  time  in  the  British  Navy. 

The  treaty  was  signed  on  June  3,  1805,  and 
salutes  were  exchanged  between  the  Constitution 
and  the  batteries  on  shore.  In  the  mean  time  the 
Bey  of  Tunis  had  been  threatening  trouble  unless 
certain  ships  which  had  been  captured  while  run 
ning  the  blockade  were  forthwith  surrendered. 
Commodore  Eodgers  therefore  moved  down  with 
nearly  the  whole  of  his  fleet  and  anchored  off  Tunis 
on  August  1.  After  certain  dilatory  negotiations 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WAR  WITH  TRIPOLI    119 

which  lasted  two  weeks,  and  which  gave  Rodgers 
the  impression  that  the  Bey  was  seeking  only  to 
get  rid  of  the  squadron  by  vague  promises,  he 
wrote  the  following  in  a  letter  to  the  consul- 
general  :  — 

"  He  (the  Bey)  must  do  one  of  three  things,  by  simple 
request,  or  else  do  all  three  by  force.    He  must  give  the 


CORSAIR 


guarantee  already  required  —  or,  he  must  give  sufficient 
security  for  peace  and  send  a  minister  to  the  United 
States  —  or,  he  must  make  such  alterations  in  the  treaty 
as  you  may  require,  and  as  may  satisfy  you  that  there  is 
confidence  to  be  placed  in  what  he  does. 

"  I  have  only  to  repeat,  that  if  he  does  not  do  all  that 


120  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

is  necessary  and  proper,  at  the  risk  of  my  conduct  being 
disapproved  by  my  country,  he  shall  feel  the  vengeance 
of  the  squadron  now  in  the  bay." 

This  startling  departure  from  the  timid  and 
feeble  foreign  policy  of  the  United  States  during 
its  first  ten  years  produced  its  effect,  and  a  treaty 
was  signed  with  Tunis  ending  tribute  forever. 

The  active  operations  in  the  Mediterranean  ended 
with  this  incident,  but  for  some  years  a  few  ships 
were  kept  on  the  station  for  observation  of  the 
Barbary  States.  Our  merchant-ships  were  never 
afterwards  molested.  The  squadron  was  gradually 
reduced,  and  Commodore  Rodgers  returned  home 
in  May,  1806,  giving  up  the  command  of  the  Con 
stitution  to  Captain  Hugh  G.  Campbell,  who  kept 
her  cruising  from  port  to  port  another  year.  The 
detention  which  held  the  crew  so  long  over  their 
terms  of  enlistment  and  gave  rise  to  an  attempt  at 
mutiny  was  caused  by  the  failure  of  her  relief,  the 
Chesapeake,  to  put  in  an  appearance. 


CHAPTER  VII 

OUTBREAK   OF   THE   WAR   OF   1812 

THE  years  following  the  treaties  with  the  Bar- 
bary  States  form  a  period  of  indifference  towards 
the  Navy,  notwithstanding  the  growing  trouble 
with  England.  The  policy  of  the  government  was 
both  weak  and  foolish.  Materials  which  had  been 
collected  in  1799  and  1800  towards  building  six 
line-of-battle-ships  had  been  frittered  away  on  re 
pairs  and  reconstruction  of  old  ships.  Besides  this, 
the  administration  under  Jefferson  was  soon  bitten 
with  the  idea  of  a  mosquito  fleet  of  small  gunboats 
for  coast  defense.  The  demand  for  such  vessels  at 
Tripoli  and  subsequently  in  the  waters  of  the  Gulf 
for  use  against  the  Spaniards  had  given  rise  to  a 
theory  of  warfare  which  subsequent  events  proved 
altogether  fallacious.  The  inland  waters  along  the 
east  coast  seemed  to  offer  exceptional  facilities  for 
sudden  attack  upon  an  enemy  by  numerous  small 
ships  carrying  only  a  few  guns  each.  It  was  thought 
that  if  enough  of  them  could  concentrate  upon  a 
blockading  ship,  she  would  easily  be  captured ;  and 


122  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

that,  if  they  found  themselves  in  danger,  they  could 
retire  to  the  shallow  waters  beyond  the  reach  of 
an  enemy's  guns.  Nothing  could  have  been  more 
wasteful  or  more  destructive  of  the  morale  of  the 
service.  Mr.  Jefferson  ought  to  have  known  from 
the  ineffectiveness  of  the  Tripolitan  gunboats 
against  the  Constitution  that  such  craft  were  of  no 
use  whatever  in  case  of  a  blockade. 

The  periodic  return  of  this  mania  for  something 
cheap  should  be  a  warning  to  the  country  even 
now.  Almost  every  Congress  has  passed  through 
a  stage  of  discussing  small  vessels  for  coast  work. 
They  may  be  very  useful  as  auxiliaries  to  real 
fighting-ships,  but  if  we  have  to  choose  between 
the  two  classes,  it  is  far  better  to  put  ten  millions 
of  dollars  into  three  battle-ships  than  four  millions 
into  fifty  torpedo-boats.  The  painful  steps  and 
mistaken  theories  by  which  our  nation  has  ac 
quired  experience  should  serve  us  in  these  days  of 
rapid  change. 

The  purchase  of  Louisiana  relieved  the  govern 
ment  of  its  uneasiness  in  the  Spanish  business,  but 
the  building  of  gunboats  went  on.  In  1806  the 
President  reported  that  fifty  were  ready  for  com 
mission,  and  recommended  more  of  them.  About 
257  vessels  of  this  description  were  eventually 
built,  and  they  may  be  dismissed  with  the  state 
ment  that  in  the  war  which  followed  a  few  years 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1812        123 

later  they  were  permitted  to  rot  well  out  of  reach 
of  British  cruisers.  Events  were  shaping  themselves 
rapidly,  and  the  time  was  fast  approaching  when 
the  Constitution  was  in  one  battle  to  do  more  to 
give  us  a  national  pride,  to  teach  foreign  respect  for 
American  arms,  and  to  turn  our  Congress  towards 
correct  theories  of  the  country's  defense,  than  the 
entire  navy  of  gunboats  could  ever  have  done. 

The  Chesapeake,  then  at  the  Washington  Navy 
Yard  under  repairs,  had  been  detailed  for  the 
Constitution's  relief.  Commodore  James  Barren 
was  to  go  out  in  command  of  the  station.  There 
was  great  delay  in  getting  her  ready  for  sea,  but 
finally  she  dropped  down  to  Norfolk  for  the  com 
pletion  of  her  armament.  Before  she  left  Washing 
ton,  however,  the  British  minister  complained  that 
three  deserters  from  the  British  ship  Melampus 
had  enlisted  upon  her.  The  matter  was  investi 
gated,  and  they  were  found  to  be  deserters,  as 
claimed,  but  men  who  had  been  impressed  from 
American  ships  and  had  taken  the  first  opportunity 
of  escaping  to  their  own  country.  The  Chesapeake 
sailed  for  the  Mediterranean  on  June  22,  1807, 
and  was  accompanied  to  sea  by  the  English  frigate 
Leopard,  of  superior  force.  When  some  miles  out 
the  English  captain  sent  on  board  an  order  from 
Vice- Admiral  Berkeley  directing  him  on  meeting 
the  Chesapeake  "to  search  her  for  deserters." 


124  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

Commodore  Barron  did  not  have  his  ship  cleared 
for  action,  and  he  delayed  a  reply,  but  the  English 
man  recalled  his  messenger  and  fired  broadside 
after  broadside  into  her,  until  the  flag  was  hauled 
down.  A  number  of  men  were  wounded.  An 
officer  was  then  sent  on  board,  the  American  crew 
were  mustered  on  deck,  and  four  men  removed. 
This  outrage  will  never  be  forgotten,  although 
there  were  many  people  at  the  time  who  wished  to 
pass  it  by  without  protest.  It  was,  however,  the 
concrete  fact  which  ultimately  had  much  influence 
in  providing  a  majority  in  Congress  towards  fitting 
out  all  of  our  frigates  for  service.  In  the  end  the 
English  government  disavowed  the  act  and  returned 
the  two  survivors  of  these  four  men  to  the  deck  of 
the  ship  from  which  they  had  been  taken.  The 
resulting  negotiations,  which  were  conducted  in 
better  temper,  saved  the  country  from  immediate 
war  and  gave  us  time  for  better  preparation. 

The  Chesapeake  returned  to  Hampton  Roads,  and 
the  Constitution  was  left  to  come  home  without  a 
relief.  She  arrived  in  Boston  in  the  fall  of  1807, 
but  was  ordered  to  New  York  for  the  crew  to  be 
paid  off.  There  she  was  dismantled  for  repairs 
and  lay  for  nearly  two  years.  We  hear  nothing  of 
her  during  this  period,  but  no  doubt  she  was 
thoroughly  overhauled  for  service  on  the  home 
station.  It  is  probable,  also,  that  she  received  her 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  WAR  OF   1812        125 

heaviest  battery  during  this  time,  for  her  sailing 
qualities  fell  off.  In  August,  1809,  her  old  com 
mander,  John  Kodgers,  took  her  as  his  flagship  in 
the  northern  squadron,  but  he  kept  her  only  a 
year.  He  transferred  his  flag  to  the  President  in 
the  belief  that  she  was  a  faster  ship,  and  turned 
over  the  Constitution  to  Isaac  Hull,  who  had  been 
her  first  lieutenant  in  the  race  with  the  English 
frigate.  About  this  time  the  officers  had  a  tend 
ency  to  overload  their  ships  with  guns,  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  English  opinion  of  their 
armament  was  in  part  correct.  It  was  too  heavy. 
When  Hull  took  command  of  the  Constitution  she 
carried  on  her  gun-deck  thirty  long  24-pounders, 
on  her  quarter-deck  sixteen  32-pounder  carronades, 
and  on  her  forecastle  two  long  bow  chasers  and  six 
32-pounder  carronades.  She  was  a  very  wet  ship 
when  going  on  the  wind,  and  rode  heavily  at  her 
anchors. 

The  year  1810  was  spent  cruising  on  the  home 
station.  She  visited  Hampton  Koads  and  various 
ports.  We  find  her  during  the  winter  of  1810-11 
at  New  London  in  company  with  the  President 
and  Congress.  After  a  short  cruise  on  the  east 
coast  and  a  visit  to  Boston  in  the  spring  she  went 
to  Annapolis  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  across 
the  Atlantic  the  new  minister  to  France,  and  the 
money  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  Dutch  debt.  Mr. 


126  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

Joel  Barlow  kept  her  waiting  in  Annapolis  Eoads 
from  May  until  August,  when  he  arrived  on  board 
with  his  wife  and  her  sister  Miss  Baldwin.  They 
sailed  on  August  1,  and  had  a  very  pleasant  voy 
age  of  five  weeks  to  Cherbourg.  This  port  was 
blockaded  by  a  strong  British  squadron,  and  there 
seemed  to  be  some  disposition  to  delay  the  Consti 
tution.  A  lieutenant  was  sent  on  board  from  the 
British  flagship  with  a  request  that  the  commodore 
would  like  to  see  Captain  Hull  011  board.  When 
the  invitation  was  politely  declined,  the  messenger 
made  a  second  request  that  he  delay  his  entry  into 
Cherbourg  until  a  certain  hour  the  next  day.  Hull 
also  refused  to  consider  this.  He  explained  that 
the  American  minister  to  France  was  on  board  and 
that  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  get  into  port  as  soon  as 
the  weather  permitted. 

The  times  were  critical  for  an  American  frigate 
in  the  English  channel.  British  ships  were  every 
where,  and  the  whole  French  coast  was  under 
blockade.  The  growing  irritation  which  was  shortly 
to  break  out  into  war  did  not  promote  friendliness 
between  the  sailors  of  the  two  nations.  A  subse 
quent  visit  to  Portsmouth  was  like  putting  one's 
head  in  the  lion's  mouth  ;  but  Hull  came  out  of  it 
well,  although  at  one  time  an  open  rupture  seemed 
to  hang  on  the  toss  of  a  coin. 

The  ship  sailed  from  Cherbourg  September  12, 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1812        127 

and  proceeded  to  the  Texel,  where  the  specie  was 
landed.  She  then  returned  for  Mr.  Kussell,  who 
was  to  be  carried  across  the  channel  to  his  new 
post  at  London.  While  entering  Cherbourg  some 
of  the  British  blockading  ships  beat  up  the  harbor 
with  her  and  thereby  drew  the  fire  of  the  French 
batteries.  For  some  reason  Captain  Hull  did  not 
display  the  private  signals  agreed  upon,  and  the 
Frenchmen  doubtless  taking  him  for  an  English 
man  fired  four  shots  at  the  Constitution.  As 
stated  in  the  log  for  October  13,  "  At  \  past  3  four 
shot  were  fired  from  the  French  batteries,  2  of 
which  struck  the  ship,  1  passing  through  the 
Starbd  waist  nettings,  taking  off  the  stern  of  the 
2d  cutter  and  through  the  lee  clew  of  the  main 
sail.  The  other  struck  in  the  bends  just  aft  the 
fore  chains." 

On  November  11,  she  sailed  for  Portsmouth 
with  Mr.  Russell  and  a  number  of  passengers,  all 
of  whom  were  landed  the  next  day.  Captain  Hull 
accompanied  them  to  London  for  a  short  visit,  and 
was  therefore  absent  during  the  following  curious 
exchange  of  men  between  the  Constitution  and  the 
British  fleet. 

Very  late  on  the  evening  of  November  13,  a  boat 
came  alongside  from  the  English  frigate  Havan- 
nah,  and  an  officer  informed  Lieutenant  Charles 
Morris,  in  temporary  command,  that  a  deserter 


128  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

from  the  Constitution  had  just  swum  off  to  his 
ship.  Mr.  Morris  thanked  him  and  said  that  the 
man  would  be  sent  for  in  the  morning ;  but  when 
morning  came  the  captain  of  the  Havannah  had 
either  reconsidered  the  case  or  had  received  in 
struction  from  the  flagship.  He  refused  to  give 
the  man  up  without  an  order  from  the  admiral,  Sir 
Koger  Curtis.  The  lieutenant  then  waited  on  the 
admiral  and  made  a  formal  demand  for  the  desert 
er's  surrender.  His  demand  was  met  by  the  ques 
tion  whether  the  Americans  would  surrender  British 
deserters  to  their  ships,  or  not.  He  replied  that 
Captain  Hull  would  probably  accede  to  any  agree 
ment  of  mutual  advantage.  The  admiral  then  in 
formed  him  that  the  man  had  claimed  protection 
as  a  British  subject,  and  that  he  must  therefore 
be  retained.  A  few  nights  later  Mr.  Morris  was 
awakened  "  by  the  discharge  of  a  sentry's  musket 
and  the  cries  of  a  man  in  the  water  near  the  ship." 
When  taken  on  board  he  proved  to  be  a  deserter 
from  the  Havannah,  but  declared  himself  an  Amer 
ican.  As  Mr.  Morris  says  in  his  biography,  "  This 
was  sufficient.  A  boat  was  immediately  sent  to 
the  Havannah  to  reciprocate  the  politeness  of  the 
preceding  evening,  and  the  next  morning  we  had 
the  satisfaction  of  assigning  the  same  reason  and 
the  same  testimony  for  refusing  a  demand  for  his 
restitution  from  the  captain  and  admiral."  The 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1812        129 

subject  was  much  discussed  on  shore,  and  there 
were  threats  of  using  force.  Two  English  frigates 
moved  down  quite  near  the  Constitution,  so  that 
she  had  great  difficulty  in  changing  her  anchor 
age  without  fouling  them.  Captain  Hull,  who  had 
come  on  board  in  the  mean  time,  fully  sustained  Mr. 
Morris  in  his  course,  and  directed  him  upon  the 
turn  of  the  tide  to  drop  down  to  St.  Helen's  Roads ; 
but  the  two  English  frigates  again  got  up  their 
anchors  and  moved  to  positions  near  the  Constitu 
tion.  That  the  Americans  had  learned  a  lesson 
from  the  Chesapeake  affair  is  very  well  shown  by 
the  brief  entries  in  the  log  of  what  took  place. 
The  following  are  given  verbatim  :  — 

Nov.  13,  1811.  —  At  Sunset  mustered  the  crew  at 
Quarters,  ^  past  8  P.  M.  an  officer  came  alongside  from 
the  Admiral  and  said  they  had  taken  up  a  Man  which 
had  swam  from  the  Constitution.  It  proved  to  be 
Thomas  Holland,  a  Seaman.  Fresh  breeze  and  cloudy 
with  rain  during  the  night. 

Nov.  17.  At  Sunset  mustered  the  Crew  at  Quarters. 
At  8  P.  M.,  John  Burnes  Swam  on  board  from  an  Eng 
lish  Ship.  Light  breezes  and  clear. 

Nov.  19.  At  9  A.  M.  Sent  up  Top.  G.  masts  and 
unmoored  Ship.  At  Meridian,  hove  up  the  Starboard 
Anchor  and  stood  down  to  St.  Hellens  Roads  under  the 
Top  Sails.  Gunners  employed  overhauling  the  Guns 
and  sending  up  Grape  and  Round  Shott. 


130  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

Nov.  20.     Anchored  in  St.  Hellens  Roads. 

Nov.  21.  At  £  past  3  Hove  Short  on  the  Larboard 
Cable,  beat  to  Quarters  and  cleared  away  the  Guns,  got 
everything  ready  for  Action.  J  before  4  Hove  up  the 
Anchor,  Made  Sail  and  stood  out  into  the  Ghannell.  At 
4  light  breezes  and  clear.  From  4  to  6  Employed 
Stowing  Anchor  &  preparing  the  ship  for  action. 

Although  their  spelling  and  capitals  were  not 
always  reliable,  we  can  have  entire  faith  in  their 
readiness  to  maintain  the  rights  of  the  flag.  They 
stood  out  of  the  harbor  calmly,  without  fear,  and 
therefore  without  molestation  from  the  British 
frigate  which  accompanied  them  to  sea.  Two  days 
later  they  entered  Cherbourg,  and  Mr.  Morris  was 
sent  up  to  Paris  for  dispatches  from  Mr.  Barlow  to 
the  home  government.  He  was  detained  six  weeks, 
and  we  find  a  very  interesting  glimpse  of  Napoleon 
and  official  Paris  during  this  time  in  his  autobio 
graphy.  He  met  Lafayette,  Kosciusko,  and  many 
survivors  of  the  French  Revolution.  Early  in 
January  he  was  back  on  board  ship,  and  they 
sailed  for  home  on  the  10th. 

During  their  stay  in  the  Channel  and  North  Sea, 
a  number  of  deaths  occurred  on  board  ship.  They 
are  entered  in  the  log  almost  always  in  the  same 
stereotyped  phrase,  followed  by  a  note  regarding 
the  weather ;  as,  "  At  2  A.  M.,  John  Fullington 
departed  this  life.  Wind  E.  N.  E."  Another  un- 


CHAKLKS    MOKKIS 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1812         131 

canny  entry  occurs  occasionally  during  the  winter, 
"Carpenters  employed  making  Coffins."  The 
weather  must  have  been  very  boisterous,  for  the 
crew  was  kept  busy  securing  the  ship  against  wind 
and  sea.  The  sails,  yards,  and  cables  gave  no  end 
of  trouble.  We  may  be  sure  that  Captain  Hull 
did  not  spare  his  men  at  this  time.  They  anchored 
off  Old  Point  Comfort  after  a  very  stormy  passage 
of  forty  days,  and  late  in  March  took  the  ship  up 
to  the  Navy  Yard  at  Washington  for  a  thorough 
overhauling.  All  ammunition  and  guns  had  to  be 
removed  to  get  her  over  the  bar  in  the  Potomac 
River.  Her  sailing  qualities  had  fallen  off  so 
much  during  this  cruise  that  Captain  Hull  re 
quested  the  Navy  Department  to  have  her  hove  out 
for  examination  and  repair  of  the  copper.  There 
were  no  dry  docks  at  this  time,  and  the  only 
method  of  obtaining  access  to  the  bottom  of  a  ship 
was  by  careening  her  in  shallow  water.  For  this 
purpose  she  was  usually  made  as  light  as  possible. 
The  stores  and  ballast  were  accordingly  discharged 
from  the  Constitution,  and  the  repairs  to  the  copper 
bottom  were  completed  in  about  five  weeks.  Her 
old  sailing-master,  "  Jumping  Billy "  Haraden, 
was  master  of  the  Yard  ;  fortunately,  as  subsequent 
events  proved.  He  took  entire  charge  of  the  work 
on  her  and  exercised  special  care  in  restowing  her 
hold  to  give  her  the  proper  sailing  trim.  Only 


132  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

about  two  thirds  of  the  ballast  was  put  back.  The 
result  was  magical,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  Mr. 
Haraden  contributed  materially  to  her  famous 
escape  from  an  English  squadron  two  months  later. 
War  was  declared  against  England  on  June  18, 
1812,  and  again  the  entry  in  the  Constitution's  log 
exhibits  a  characteristic  spirit.  It  is  :  — 

June  20.  At  5  P.  M.  the  Commanding  Officer, 
Lieutenant  Read,  had  the  crew  turned  up,  and  read  to 
them  the  declaration  of  war  between  the  United  States 
and  the  United  Kingdoms  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
that  had  passed  the  Senate  and  authorizing  the  Presi 
dent  James  Madison  to  employ  the  Armies  and  Navy  of 
the  United  States  against  the  above  written  powers. 
The  Crew  manifested  their  Zeal  in  Support  of  the  Honor 
of  the  United  States  Flagg  by  requesting  of  leave  to 
Cheer  on  the  occasion  (granted  them).  Crew  returned 
to  their  duty,  light  airs  from  the  Southward  and  East 
ward. 

It  was  during  this  war  that  the  Constitution 
found  her  most  eventful  career  and  earned  her 
chief  laurels.  It  may  be  well  therefore  to  say  a 
word  about  the  preparation  of  the  country  for  war 
and  the  odds  against  which  our  few  frigates  had  to 
contend.  The  war  sprang  principally  from  inability 
to  maintain  our  neutrality  between  France  and 
England,  and  it  has  been  called  the  second  war  of 
independence,  —  independence  on  the  high  seas. 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE   WAR  OF   1812        133 

As  the  Orders  in  Council  were  revoked  five  days 
after  the  declaration  of  war,  we  really  fought  three 
years  for  sailors'  rights.  For  England  to  impress 
seamen  in  her  own  cities  and  bear  them  away  from 
their  families  for  service  in  the  navy  was  cruel 
enough ;  but  for  her  to  take  men  out  of  our  ships, 
both  public  and  private,  whenever  an  intemperate 
captain  saw  fit,  was  simply  unbearable.  Yet  it 
lasted  twenty  years  and  more,  during  the  period  of 
our  weakness.  In  fairness  it  may  be  said  that  in 
ternational  rights,  especially  those  of  neutrals,  were 
very  poorly  defined  one  hundred  years  ago,  and 
we  knew  as  little  as  the  rest  of  the  world.  Too 
great  a  predominance  on  the  sea  is  fatal  to  gen 
erosity  and  good  temper  in  dealing  with  other 
nations,  and  England  was  paying  this  penalty  for 
her  navy.  Time  has  made  clear  that  she  stood  for 
civilization  and  humanity  during  the  Napoleonic 
wars.  She  saved  Europe  from  a  despotism  that 
might  ultimately  have  turned  the  entire  Continent 
into  another  China.  In  this  light,  her  naval  pre 
dominance  was  the  beacon  selected  by  a  divine 
Providence  for  the  education  of  the  human  race. 
We  may  well  deal  charitably  therefore  with  the 
rashness  and  despotic  exercise  of  power  which  pro 
voked  war  and  also  planted  the  seeds  of  defeat  at 
our  hands. 

The  astonishing  part  of  the  whole  matter  was 


134  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

our  absolute  unpreparedness.  We  had  only  twenty 
ships  for  warfare  on  the  open  sea,  and  of  these 
three  were  far  gone  in  decay.  So  hopeless  seemed 
the  strength  of  the  navy  that  the  cabinet  voted  to 
lay  up  all  the  ships  to  prevent  their  capture  by  the 
English,  and  President  Madison  was  only  dissuaded 
with  difficulty  by  Captains  Bainbridge  and  Stewart, 
who  happened  to  be  in  Washington,  and  who  after 
wards  commanded  the  Constitution  in  successful 
actions.  The  war  and  the  building  up  of  a  navy 
had  been  made  so  much  a  party  question  that  Con 
gress  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  do  anything 
until  we  were  actually  forced  into  hostilities,  and 
then  it  was  too  late.  But  the  country  was  very 
much  divided  even  after  war  was  declared.  New 
England  proved  the  most  strenuous  opponent,  as 
she  was  the  principal  sufferer  by  reason  of  her  large 
merchant  marine  shut  up  in  port.  Some  of  her 
citizens  carried  their  opposition  so  far  as  to  discuss 
secession.  A  victory  over  the  English  was  needed 
to  satisfy  public  opinion  by  giving  all  alike  a  cause 
for  rejoicing.  The  hand  of  Providence  had  selected 
the  Constitution  for  this  service.  Three  times  she 
went  out  from  Boston  to  victory,  and  three  times 
the  New  England  people  were  fired  with  immense 
enthusiasm  over  the  success  of  the  ship  built  by 
their  own  hands.  Nothing  more  fortunate  has 
occurred  in  our  history. 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1812        135 

The  position  of  England  at  the  time  was  one  of 
great  strength  on  the  sea.  France,  her  only  an 
tagonist,  had  never  recovered  from  Trafalgar ;  so 
that  the  duty  of  the  English  fleet  was  mainly  con 
fined  to  the  blockade  of  French  ports.  For  this 
purpose  she  had  between  six  and  seven  hundred 
armed  vessels,  fifty  of  which  were  enough  to  seal 
up  our  harbors  and  destroy  our  little  navy. 
Many  of  these  were  line-of-battle-ships,  of  which 
we  had  none,  and  against  any  one  of  which  our 
few  frigates  could  not  hope  to  stand.  Added  to 
this  tremendous  preponderance  was  the  confidence 
born  of  many  years  of  successful  warfare.  The 
English  sailors  had  won  on  every  sea,  and  we 
were,  comparatively  speaking,  untried.  They  had 
no  thought  of  defeat,  and  we  did  not  dream  of 
victory.  As  an  offset  to  this  very  great  superiority 
many  of  the  British  ships  were  under-manned. 
The  additional  strain  put  upon  England  by  the 
blockade  of  the  American  coast  hampered  the  sup 
ply  of  Wellington's  army  and  caused  him  to  com 
plain  bitterly  of  a  lack  of  cooperation  between  the 
Army  and  Navy.  Lord  Melville  writes  in  1813 : 
"  The  drain  of  seamen  which  the  American  lake 
service  has  required  has  already  greatly  distressed 
us,  and  that  the  supply  of  seamen  is  so  inadequate 
to  the  current  demands  of  the  service,  as  your 
lordship  well  knows,  the  ships  in  commission  are 


136  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

too  frequently  short  of  complement ;  but  not  less 
than  six  sail  of  the  line  and  sixteen  frigates  with 
a  great  number  of  sloops  and  smaller  vessels  are 
at  this  moment  ready  to  receive  men  and  are 
lying  useless  because  men  cannot  be  supplied  to 
them." 

Attention  has  been  called  to  the  construction 
of  our  frigates  and  their  great  superiority  over 
anything  of  the  class  afloat,  but  our  readers  can 
have  no  idea  of  the  unreasoning  controversy  which 
sprang  from  our  victories.  It  is  worth  while  going 
into  a  further  comparison  between  the  Constitution 
and  the  two  frigates  she  captured.  The  Secretary 
of  War  in  his  report  for  1798  described  our  36 
and  44-gun  frigates  as  "  separately  superior  to  any 
single  European  frigates  of  the  usual  dimensions." 
That  is  the  plain  truth  of  the  matter,  yet  this  was 
designated  by  the  historian  of  the  British  Navy  as 
a  method  "  evidently  to  operate  as  a  cheat  or  de 
lusion  upon  the  rest  of  the  world."  His  grounds 
for  making  this  statement  were  that  our  ships  car 
ried  more  guns  and  of  greater  calibre  than  their 
rating,  and  that  they  were  as  heavily  built  as 
British  line-of-battle-ships.  A  comparison  of  the 
English  frigate  Java  with  the  Constitution  will 
serve  to  bring  out  the  merits  of  the  case  and  to 
show  the  inconsistencies  of  the  rating  on  both 
sides.  The  Java  was  captured  from  the  French 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1812        137 

under  the  name  of  "  La  Kenommee,"  and  was  de 
scribed  as  a  40-gun  ship.  She  actually  carried  46 
guns.  The  English  rechristened  her  and  changed 
the  rating  to  38  guns,  although  they  increased  the 
armament  to  49  guns,  just  eleven  more  than  the 
rate  called  for.  She  fired  a  broadside  of  576 
pounds. 

The  Constitution,  rated  as  a  44-gun  frigate, 
actually  carried  52  guns,  firing  a  nominal  broad 
side  of  704  pounds  in  her  engagement  with  the 
Java.  The  smallest  British  line  -  of  -  battle  -  ship, 
the  74,  carried  83  guns,  with  a  broadside  of  1032 
pounds. 

There  was  no  intention  to  deceive  in  any  of  these 
cases.  The  nomenclature  had  grown  up  without 
much  thought  of  its  inconsistency.  Little  attention 
was  paid  to  the  number  of  carronades  placed  on 
the  forecastle  and  quarter-deck ;  very  much  as  we 
might  now  reckon  the  heavy  guns  of  the  Iowa  and 
call  her  a  12-gun  battle-ship,  whereas  her  battery 
consists  really  of  46  guns  of  sizes  from  12"  down 
to  y  calibre.  The  complement  of  men  for  the 
Constitution  was  400,  as  previously  stated;  that 
for  the  Java  was  about  277.  In  the  battle  between 
them  they  carried  475  and  426  respectively.  A 
line-of -battle-ship  required  590  men  in  her  crew. 
The  larger  decks  of  the  Constitution  did  not  give 
her  so  much  more  room  for  training  the  guns  on 


138  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

the  main  deck  as  would  at  first  appear.  These 
guns  were  heavier  than  those  of  the  British  frig 
ate  and  there  was  one  more  on  each  broadside,  so 
that  the  twenty  feet  additional  length  did  not  go 
very  far.  The  advantage  in  the  weight  of  guns 
and  thickness  of  sides  was,  however,  very  decided, 
especially  at  long  range.  The  Java,  for  instance, 
fired  18-pound  shot  at  the  Constitution,  whose 
sides  were  from  17  to  20  inches  thick,  while  the 
latter  fired  24-pound  shot  at  the  former,  whose 
sides  were  from  11 1  to  15  inches  thick.  On  the 
spar-deck  they  both  carried  32-pound  carronades, 
and  were  in  that  respect  very  nearly  equal;  but 
the  range  of  the  carronades  was  comparatively 
short,  and  ships  had  to  close  in  to  use  them.  With 
her  superiority  in  long  guns,  the  Constitution  had 
only  to  choose  her  distance  with  judgment,  and  the 
result  of  the  fight  was  certain. 

For  a  long  time  it  was  said  that  our  crews  were 
made  up  of  Englishmen  enticed  into  the  service. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  naval  vessels  of  all 
countries  carried  many  foreigners  in  their  comple 
ments,  and  the  United  States  was  probably  no 
exception  to  the  rule ;  but  the  number  of  foreign 
ers  varied  with  the  difficulty  of  getting  seamen  at 
home.  The  British  were  very  hard  pressed  for 
men,  and  had  to  resort  to  impressment.  Their 
ships  rarely  had  the  full  numbers,  and  the  com  pie- 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1812        139 

ments  were  still  further  reduced  by  throwing  into 
prison  impressed  American  sailors  who  refused  to 
fight  against  their  country.  During  the  war  with 
Tripoli  the  accusation  against  us  would  probably 
have  been  true,  except  as  to  the  word  "  enticing ; " 
for  our  own  sailors  were  engaged  in  a  very  profit 
able  commerce.  But  the  War  of  1812  found  many 
of  our  merchant-ships  withdrawn  from  service,  and 
great  numbers  of  American  sailors  idle.  Many 
embarked  as  privateers  in  the  hope  of  rich  booty 
from  the  enemy's  commerce.  It  is  probable,  how 
ever,  that  at  no  period  of  our  history  have  we  had 
a  greater  percentage  of  American-born  sailors  in 
the  Navy.  The  fact  that  impressment  had  never 
gained  a  foothold  in  this  country  was  doubtless  an 
element  in  our  favor;  for  men  who  go  willingly 
may  be  trusted  to  do  far  better  work  than  those 
who  are  driven.  The  American  sailors  quickly 
learned  gunnery,  and  responded  to  training  far 
better  than  the  English.  They  had  to  respond  to 
training.  It  was  their  only  hope  against  such 
overwhelming  odds.  Added  to  this,  our  officers 
made  a  careful  and  intelligent  study  of  tactics, 
while  the  English  still  labored  under  the  traditions 
of  that  king  who  said,  "Lay  me  aboard  of  yon 
Frenchman.  I  wish  to  joust  with  him."  Nelson 
had  put  this  in  different  words,  "Never  mind 
manoeuvres,  always  go  at  them."  But  his  advice 


140  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

proved  misleading  against  a  wary  enemy  who  could 
shoot.  Sir  Howard  Douglass  has  well  stated  the 
case  in  his  treatise  on  Guimery.  "  When  the  fleet 
of  Europe  opposed  to  us  in  the  late  war  [1793- 
1815]  had  been  swept  from  the  face  of  the  ocean 
by  the  gallant  achievements  of  the  British  marine, 
a  period  of  undisputed  dominion  ensued,  during 
which  our  seamen  were  not,  in  general,  sufficiently 
practiced  in  the  exercise  of  those  weapons  by  which 
that  dominion  had  been  gained,  but,  in  the  pride  of 
conquest,  were  in  many  instances  to  lose  much 
of  that  proficiency  in  warlike  practice  which  had 
been  acquired  in  a  long  series  of  arduous  service." 
"  The  danger  of  resting  satisfied  with  superiority 
over  a  system  so  defective  as  that  of  our  former 
opponents  has  been  made  sufficiently  evident.  We 
became  too  confident  by  being  feebly  opposed; 
then  slack  in  warlike  exercise,  by  not  being  op 
posed  at  all ;  and  lastly,  in  many  cases,  inexpert 
for  want  even  of  drill  practice ;  and  herein  con 
sisted  the  great  disadvantage  under  which,  without 
suspecting  it,  we  entered  in  1812,  with  too  great 
confidence,  into  a  war  with  a  marine  much  more 
expert  than  that  of  any  of  our  European  enemies." 


ISAAC  HULL 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ESCAPE   OF   THE    CONSTITUTION    FROM    A    BRITISH 
SQUADRON 

The  War  of  1812  could  not  be  fought  on  any 
definite  strategic  plan.  We  had  no  line -of -battle 
ships,  and  the  disparity  in  resources  and  ships  on 
the  two  sides  forbade  fleet  actions.  Our  only  hope 
lay  in  frequenting  the  trade  routes  of  the  enemy  to 
do  as  much  harm  as  possible  to  his  commerce,  and 
incidentally  to  fight  frigates  or  sloops  acting  singly. 
Commodore  Rodgers  had  a  fleet  during  the  war, 
but  he  accomplished  very  little  with  it.  Without 
even  one  heavy  fighting-ship,  he  could  do  nothing 
towards  raising  the  blockade,  and  he  remained  per 
force  helpless.  His  ships  were  ultimately  shut  up 
in  ports  or  scattered.  The  spirit  which  animated 
the  officers  on  both  sides  was  more  that  of  the 
knights-errant.  They  seemed  to  enjoy  combat,  and 
challenges  were  often  exchanged  between  single 
ships.  Captain  Broke  sent  a  challenge  in  to  Bos 
ton  that  he  would  meet  Captain  Lawrence  in  any 
latitude  and  longitude  the  latter  would  select  for  a 


142  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

combat  between  the  Shannon  and  the  Chesapeake. 
Captain  Bainbridge  asked  permission  of  the  Navy 
Department  to  take  the  Constellation,  a  36-gun 
frigate,  out  to  fight  any  38-gun  frigate  selected  by 
the  British  Admiral.  These  duels  seemed  almost 
like  submitting  the  cause  to  the  prowess  of  single 
champions,  instead  of  making  it  the  test  of  the 
national  resources  and  of  the  organization  of  a 
whole  people  for  war.  We  cannot  fail  to  admire, 
however,  the  high  sense  of  honor  of  these  officers 
and  their  sterling  fidelity  to  the  flags  of  their 
countries. 

The  Constitution  left  Washington  on  June  21, 
three  days  after  the  declaration  of  war,  with  orders 
to  proceed  to  New  York  and  join  the  squadron  of 
Commodore  Rodgers.  Captain  Hull  commanded 
her,  and  Charles  Morris  was  again  her  first  lieuten 
ant.  Her  complement  was  greatly  deficient,  some 
of  her  officers  had  not  yet  joined,  only  a  part  of 
the  guns  were  mounted,  and  she  was  generally  im 
perfect  as  to  equipment.  On  the  25th  of  June  she 
was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Potomac,  and  on  the  28th 
at  anchor  off  Annapolis  for  greater  convenience  to 
Baltimore,  where  men  and  stores  could  be  obtained. 
Here  she  was  put  in  order  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
the  men  were  stationed,  and  new  draughts  came 
down  from  Baltimore  to  join  her.  On  the  5th  of 
July  she  got  up  anchor  and  stood  down  Chesa- 


ESCAPE  FROM  A  BRITISH  SQUADRON    143 

peake  Bay,  still  receiving  men  and  stores,  until  she 
passed  out  between  the  Capes  on  July  12.  The 
crew  were  constantly  drilled  at  the  sails  and  the 
guns.  The  marvelous  power  of  organization  pos 
sessed  by  Captain  Hull  and  Mr.  Morris  is  well 
demonstrated  by  the  ship's  escape  from  a  British 
squadron  five  days  after  putting  to  sea.  This  chase 
has  become  memorable  in  the  Navy  through  the 
use  of  the  kedge  anchor  in  the  shallow  water  off 
the  New  Jersey  coast. 

The  officers  attached  to  her  at  this  time  as 
nearly  as  may  be  ascertained  were :  — 

Captain,  Isaac  Hull. 

Lieutenants,  Charles  Morris,  Alexander  S.  Wads- 
worth,  George  C.  Read,  Beekman  V.  Hoffman  and  John 
T.  Shubrick. 

Sailing-master,  John  C.  Alwyn, 

Midshipmen,  Charles  W.  Morgan,  Frederick  Baury, 
Henry  Gilliam,  William  D.  Salter,  William  L.  Gordon, 
William  V.  Taylor,  John  Tayloe,  Ambrose  D.  Field, 
Joseph  Cross,  John  A.  Belcher,  Alexander  Eskridge, 
James  Greenlaw,  Allen  Griffin,  Lewis  German,  James 
W.  Dulany  and  Thomas  A.  Beatty. 

Surgeon,  Amos  A.  Evans. 

Surgeon's  Mates,  Donaldson  Yeates  and  John  D. 
Armstrong. 

Purser,  Thomas  J.  Chew. 

Lieutenants  of  Marines,  William  S.  Bush  and  John 
Contee. 


144  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

They  were  probably  all  on  board  during  the 
action  with  the  Guerriere. 

While  Hull  was  sailing  down  the  Chesapeake 
expecting  to  join  Commodore  Rodgers  outside  of 
New  York,  the  latter's  squadron  was  in  the  Gulf 
Stream  looking  for  the  Jamaica  fleet.  Rodgers 
had  hurried  to  sea  within  an  hour  after  he  received 
word  of  the  declaration  of  war,  taking  five  ships 
with  him.  Two  days  out  he  sighted  a  British 
frigate  to  the  northeast,  and  the  whole  squadron 
gave  chase.  The  flagship,  President,  got  near 
enough  to  throw  a  few  shot  into  her,  but  was 
then  delayed  by  the  bursting  of  a  gun  and  the 
chase  got  away.  She  proved  to  be  the  Belvidera, 
commanded  by  Captain  Byron,  who  gained  much 
credit  for  his  seamanship  in  this  affair.  Without 
knowing  it  he  had  also  saved  the  Jamaica  fleet  by 
delaying  Commodore  Rodgers  in  the  effort  to  cap 
ture  his  small  frigate.  The  chase  was  given  up  at 
sunset  and  the  squadron  turned  in  pursuit  of  the 
British  merchant-ships,  which  they  followed  across 
the  Atlantic,  often  approaching  almost  within  sight 
of  them.  The  Belvidera  put  into  Halifax  with  the 
news  that  an  American  squadron  was  outside  of 
New  York,  and  a  British  squadron  under  Captain 
Broke  was  promptly  sent  out  to  look  for  them. 
Thus,  Captain  Hull  found  five  British  ships  where 
he  expected  to  meet  Commodore  Rodgers. 


ESCAPE  FROM  A  BRITISH  SQUADRON    145 

After  clearing  the  Capes,  the  Constitution  had 
made  very  slow  progress  up  the  coast  against  light 
contrary  winds.  At  two  o'clock  on  the  afternoon 
of  July  17,  four  sails  were  sighted  from  the  mast 
head  to  the  northward  heading  towards  the  New 
Jersey  coast.  The  wind,  what  there  was  of  it, 
came  from  the  northeast  and  the  strangers  had  the 
weather  gauge.  Captain  Hull,  supposing  them  to 
be  the  American  squadron,  at  first  headed  his  ship 
around  to  join  them.  Two  hours  later,  a  fifth  sail 
was  sighted  to  the  northeast  coming  down  before 
the  light  wind,  which  soon  died  out  entirely  and 
left  all  the  ships  becalmed  outside  of  range  of  one 
another.  At  six  o'clock  a  shift  of  wind  enabled 
Hull  to  head  towards  the  last  comer.  This  ship 
was  the  frigate  Guerriere,  commanded  by  Captain 
James  R.  Dacres,  looking  for  the  British  squadron 
from  which  he  had  recently  been  separated.  He 
had  previously  met  them  near  Nantucket,  while  on 
his  way  to  Halifax  for  repairs,  water  and  provi 
sions,  and  had  been  ordered  to  remain.  This  meet 
ing  was  a  fateful  one,  as  the  timbers  of  his  ship 
were  said  to  be  decayed  and  the  rigging  in  need  of 
refitting.  The  delay  of  one  month  on  the  station 
threw  her,  on  the  continuance  of  her  voyage  north, 
directly  in  the  way  of  the  Constitution.  By  a  curi 
ous  coincidence,  her  consorts  had  lost  sight  of  her 
the  night  before  the  Constitution  appeared,  and 


146  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION       - 

when  she  hove  in  sight  again  they  took  her  for  a 
second  American  frigate,  while  Dacres  suspected 
them  to  be  the  American  squadron.  Captain  Hull 
was  also  uncertain  about  her  identity,  and  had 
headed  around  to  investigate  her,  as  above  stated. 
Thus,  there  were  three  parties  to  this  meet 
ing  working  at  cross  purposes.  The  other  four 
ships  were  the  64-gun  ship  Africa,  Captain  Bast 
ard,  the  38-gun  frigates  Shannon  and  Belvidera, 
commanded  respectively  by  captains  Broke  and 
Byron,  and  the  32-gun  frigate  ^Eolus,  Captain 
Townsend. 

At  half-past  seven  Hull  cleared  ship  for  action 
as  a  precaution,  and  at  half-past  ten  he  displayed 
the  private  signals  and  kept  them  up  three  quarters 
of  an  hour  without  reply.  This  led  him  to  head 
away  cautiously  until  daybreak.  At  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning  the  Constitution  and  the  Guer- 
riere  were  within  range  of  each  other,  and  Cap 
tain  Dacres  in  his  turn  made  signal,  one  rocket 
and  two  guns.  As  none  of  the  ships  answered  the 
.signal,  he  made  haste  to  head  away  before  the 
wind  to  escape  from  what  he  conceived  to  be 
Rodgers'  squadron.  Hull  no  longer  doubted  the 
nationality  of  the  ships  in  whose  midst  he  found 
himself  when  day  broke,  and  to  make  matters 
as  bad  as  possible,  there  was  little  or  no  wind. 
They  had  drifted  with  flapping  sails  the  better 


ESCAPE  FROM  A  BRITISH   SQUADRON    147 


part  of  the  night.  At  daylight,  the  British  ran  up 
their  colors  and  gave  chase.  They  had  all  the 
breeze  at  first,  and  gained.  Two  more  vessels,  a 
brig  and  a  schooner,  hove  in  sight  astern  at  four 


38  &   JUNON 
ESCAPE  FROM 
/BRITISH   FLEET 


ESCAPE  FROM 
BRITISH  FLEET 


CONSTITUT10N 
* 

JAVA 


LOCATION    OF     BATTLES     BETWEEN     THE      CONSTITUTION     AND 
BRITISH   FRIGATES,    AND   ESCAPES   FROM  PURSUING  FLEETS 

o'clock.  An  hour  later  some  of  the  frigates  began 
firing,  but  their  shots  passed  over  the  Constitution 
without  striking. 

Commodore  Morris,  who  has  left  us  an  admirable 


148  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

account  of  this  chase,  says  that  the  chances  of 
escape  were  considered  hopeless  at  this  time.     The 
Americans  returned  the  fire,  and  the  crew  held  to 
their  work  without  flinching.     Two  24-pound  guns 
had  been  moved   to  the   stern   and  mounted  for 
firing  directly  aft  by  cutting  away  the  taffrail,  and 
two  guns  were  run  out  of  the  cabin  windows.    The 
latter  proved  of  no  service,  on  account  of  the  over 
hang  of  the  stern.     About  2300  gallons  of  fresh 
water  were  pumped  out  of  the  ship,  and  the  sails 
were  all  wet  down  to  close  the  texture  of  the  can 
vas.     At  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  one  of  the 
frigates  (Shannon)  furled  sails  and  was  taken  in 
tow  by  all  the  boats  of  the  squadron.      This  drew 
her  up  steadily,  and,  as  Mr.  Morris  again  says, 
"  seemed  to  decide  our  fate."     But  it  was  not  to 
be.     A  sudden  puff  of  wind  gave  the  Constitution 
a  few  minutes'  respite.     While  the  Shannon  was 
approaching  a  second  time,  Mr.  Morris  recalled  the 
use  of  a  kedge  anchor  on  the  President  in  going 
out  of  harbor,  and  suggested  to  Captain  Hull  that 
it   be   tried.     They  sounded  and  found  a  depth 
of  twenty-five  fathoms.     Accordingly,  the  launch 
and  a  cutter  were  lowered  and  sent  ahead  with  a 
kedge  to  which  was  secured  a  long  line  of  hawsers 
and  large  ropes,  —  all  that  could  be  found  in  the 
ship:  nearly  a  mile  in  length  when   fastened  to 
gether.     By  dropping  the  kedge  and  hauling  on 


ESCAPE  FROM  A  BRITISH  SQUADRON    149 

the  ropes  the  men  gradually  drew  the  ship  ahead 
to  the  anchor,  which  was  quickly  taken  up  and 
carried  out  once  more.  Whenever  the  wind  failed 
this  process  was  repeated,  until  they  finally  got 
out  of  gunshot  range  from  the  British  ships.  The 
Guerriere  was  nearly  abeam  at  one  time  in  the 
forenoon  and  fired  several  broadsides,  but  the  shot 
fell  short. 

The  Belvidera  was  the  first  to  observe  the  cause 
of  the  mysterious  drawing  ahead  of  the  Constitu 
tion,  and  Captain  Byron  was  quick  to  imitate.  He 
even  devised  a  superior  method  of  kedging  by 
making  an  anchor  fast  to  each  end  of  a  rope 
passed  through  the  two  hawse  holes.  By  this 
arrangement,  one  anchor  was  carried  ahead  while 
the  men  were  hauling  on  the  other,  and  the  ship 
could  be  kept  moving  all  the  time.  Fortunately, 
the  lead  was  too  great.  The  Constitution's  crew 
were  not  allowed  to  relax  their  efforts  during  the 
whole  day  and  night.  Not  an  officer  or  man  slept 
in  his  bunk.  The  relief  watch  lay  down  at  their 
quarters  on  deck,  and  the  guns  were  kept  ready  for 
action.  The  morning  of  the  19th  found  one  frigate 
just  out  of  range  on  the  bow,  two  frigates  on  the 
beam,  and  one  on  the  quarter,  all  to  leeward,  with 
the  wind  light  but  steady  from  the  south.  There 
were  several  other  ships  on  the  lee  quarter,  but 
some  distance  off.  At  daylight,  the  ship  on  the  lee 


150  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

Low  tacked  with  every  chance  of  getting  within 
gunshot,  but  Captain  Hull,  who  realized  that  he 
could  not  afford  to  have  his  ship  crippled,  decided 
to  tack  and  take  the  risk  of  passing  close  to  the 
smaller  ship,  the  ^Eolus,  on  the  port  quarter.  This 
he  did,  heading  to  the  eastward  and  passing  within 
range  of  the  2Eolus,  which  for  some  unexplained 
reason  did  not  fire  a  shot.  During  the  forenoon 
the  frigate  Shannon,  which  had  tacked  and  come 
in  astern  of  the  Constitution,  gained  on  her.  Up 
to  this  point  in  the  chase  Mr.  Morris  had  expressed 
a  lack  of  confidence  in  his  ship's  sailing  qualities. 
He  says  that  for  many  years  she  had  been  "  a  very 
dull  sailer,"  but  now  as  the  wind  freshened  she 
again  drew  ahead,  and  by  two  in  the  afternoon 
reached  the  unexpected  speed  of  twelve  and  a  half 
knots  an  hour. 

The  intense  anxiety  of  the  past  thirty-six  hours 
was  now  allayed  and  cheerfulness  once  more 
reigned,  but  still  the  crew  was  kept  on  the  alert. 
During  the  day,  all  the  boats  were  hoisted  in  while 
the  ship  was  going  through  the  water  at  consider 
able  speed.  It  was  reported,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  the  British  cut  adrift  many  of  their  boats  to 
keep  up  with  the  chase;  and  that  they  subse 
quently  spent  several  days  picking  them  up.  An 
incident  recorded  in  the  log  of  the  Constitution 
during  the  forenoon  exhibits  a  readiness  to  meet 


ESCAPE  FROM  A  BRITISH  SQUADRON    151 

emergencies  which  always  characterized  Hull.  An 
American  merchantman  was  sighted  to  windward? 
and  the  nearest  English  ship  hoisted  American 
colors  as  a  decoy.  Hull  immediately  sent  up  Brit 
ish  colors.  At  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  a  rain 
squall  was  seen  approaching,  and  again  his  readi 
ness  is  shown  in  the  advantage  which  he  obtained 
from  it.  All  hands  were  sent  to  their  stations  and 
sail  was  shortened  the  instant  the  wind  struck 
them.  The  pursuers,  now  some  distance  to  lee 
ward,  observed  the  apparent  confusion  on  the  Con 
stitution  before  the  rain  hid  her  from  view,  and 
made  haste  to  get  ready  for  the  approaching  blow 
by  shortening  sail  and  scattering.  In  the  mean 
time  Hull  had  quickly  made  sail  again,  and  when 
the  weather  cleared  had  added  another  mile  to  his 
advantage. 

Again  during  the  night  of  the  19th,  the  officers 
and  men  remained  on  deck,  but  at  daylight  of  the 
20th  all  danger  was  considered  at  an  end,  and  the 
crew  took  their  first  good  rest  in  over  sixty  hours. 
The  enemy's  squadron  were  hull  down  to  leeward. 
The  last  frigate  to  give  up  the  chase  was  the  Bel- 
videra,  as  the  other  ships  drew  away  towards  the 
northeast.  Mr.  Brighton  says  in  a  life  of  Ad 
miral  Broke  :  "  The  vexation  of  the  whole  British 
squadron  may  be  inferred  from  the  following  letter 
received  by  Broke  from  the  gallant  Byron,  as  well  as 


152  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

King's  account  of  the  sharp  recriminations  among 
the  sailors.  The  commanders  of  the  little  squadron 
exchanged  their  explanations  in  the  Shannon's 
cabin."  Here  follows  Captain  Byron's  letter. 

BELVIDBKA,  July  20th,  1812. 
DEAR  BROKE, 

Nothing  can  exceed  my  mortification  from  the  ex 
traordinary  escape  of  the  American  frigate,  and  I  am 
likewise  much  concerned  it  should  fall  so  heavily  on 
Dacres.  We  were  at  quarters  all  night.  The  Guerriere 
and  the  American  frigate  were  seen  from  us  most  of  the 
night,  and,  firing  near  together,  the  impression  upon 
my  mind  was  they  were  both  American  frigates.  We 
saw  often  lights  on  board  both  of  them  during  the  night, 
and  I  thought  they  were  making  signals  to  each  other. 
I  expected  to  be  in  action  very  early  in  the  morning, 
and  did  not  make  signals,  being  apprehensive  they  might 
induce  the  enemy  to  make  sail  from  us.  I  really  did 
not  think,  from  the  squadron's  position  in  the  evening, 
the  Guerriere  would  take  the  Belvidera  and  ^iEolus  to 
be  American  frigates.  About  seven  bells  in  the  middle 
watch,  as  it  must  have  been  (as  the  night  signal  appears 
to  have  been  made  by  Guerriere  at  3.15),  it  was  reported 
to  me  on  the  quarterdeck ;  but,  from  the  haziness  of  the 
morning,  I  was  not  satisfactorily  convinced  it  was  the 
real  night  signal.  I  rather  thought  it  was  the  signal  to 
distinguish  British  ships  from  the  enemy  when  going 
into  or  in  action,  and  I  had  mine  hanging  at  the  gaff, 
ready  for  showing,  all  night.  The  American  came 


ESCAPE  FROM  A  BRITISH   SQUADRON    153 

down  within  a  mile  of  my  bow,  and  hauled  close  away 
upon  the  starboard  tack.  My  anxiety  was  not  to  frighten 
him  away  by  signals.  I  am  now  very  sorry  I  did  not 
answer  the  Guerriere's  signal,  but  it  was  so  near  day 
light  I  thought  a  day  signal  might  nearly  be  seen  as 
well.  Whatever  I  did  was  from  the  most  anxious  in 
tention  to  secure  the  enemy ;  and  I  have  to  regret  that, 
from  a  succession  of  unfortunate  circumstances,  he 
should  have  escaped.  I  considered  the  rockets  and 
guns  of  the  Guerriere  to  announce  an  enemy  in  view ; 
but  whether  one  or  more  ships  the  daylight  immediately 
coming  on  would  inform  us. 

Dear  Broke,  Yours  most  sincerely, 

R.  BYRON. 

It  would  seem  as  if  fate  were  making  sport  of 
these  ships.  Had  the  Guerriere  not  joined  the 
British  squadron,  or  had  the  Constitution  not 
escaped  from  it,  our  first  frigate  victory  might 
have  been  long  enough  postponed  to  lead  to  dis 
couragement  and  sharper  divisions  within  the  na 
tion.  One  of  the  vessels  sighted  during  the  chase 
was  the  U.  S.  brig  Nautilus.  She  was  captured 
by  the  British  squadron  only  a  few  hours  out  of 
New  York,  and  her  crew  was  transferred  to  the 
Africa.  Her  commander,  Lieutenant  William  M. 
Crane,  was  kept  a  prisoner  on  his  own  ship  until 
she  reached  Halifax.  The  other  sail  sighted  was  a 
merchant-schooner  held  as  prize  by  the  British. 


154  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

As  Captain  Hull  could  not  hope  to  run  the 
blockade  at  New  York,  he  headed  for  Boston,  and 
within  two  hours  after  his  escape  was  in  chase  of 
a  sail  which  had  been  seen  to  the  northward.  She 
proved  to  be  the  American  brig  Sally,  bound  for 
Philadelphia,  but  when  notified  of  the  war  she 
immediately  headed  for  Charleston,  S.  C.  It  was 
a  relief  to  many  people  when  the  Constitution  an 
chored  in  President  Roads,  just  outside  of  Boston 
Harbor,  as  she  had  been  at  sea  twenty-two  days, 
and  the  opposition  press  had  represented  her  as 
having  been  sent  to  sea  without  any  powder.  She 
and  her  officers  acquried  great  reputations  by  this 
chase  and  escape,  and  no  doubt  her  crew  gained 
confidence  in  their  ability  to  get  away  from  a 
superior  force  if  necessary.  The  following  notice, 
which  was  inserted  in  the  Exchange  Coffee-House 
books  by  Captain  Hull,  forms  a  very  fitting  termin 
ation  of  this  episode :  — 

"  Captain  Hull,  finding  his  friends  in  Boston  are  cor 
rectly  informed  of  his  situation  when  chased  by  the 
British  squadron  off  New  York,  and  that  they  are  good 
enough  to  give  him  more  credit  by  escaping  them  than 
he  ought  to  claim,  takes  this  opportunity  of  requesting 
them  to  make  a  transfer  of  a  great  part  of  their  good 
wishes  to  Lt.  Morris,  and  the  other  brave  officers,  and 
the  crew  under  his  command,  for  their  very  great  exer 
tions  and  prompt  attention  to  orders  while  the  enemy 


ESCAPE  FROM  A  BRITISH  SQUADRON    155 

were  in  chase.  Captain  Hull  has  great  pleasure  in  say 
ing,  that  notwithstanding  the  length  of  the  ohase,  and 
the  officers  and  crew  being  deprived  of  sleep,  and  allowed 
but  little  refreshment  during  the  time,  not  a  murmur 
was  heard  to  escape  them." 

Captain  Hull  reported  his  arrival  at  Boston  to 
the  Navy  Department  and  to  the  authorities  at 
New  York,  where  he  thought  Commodore  Rodgers 
might  have  left  orders,  but  he  waited  only  long 
enough  to  hear  from  New  York  that  no  letters  had 
been  left  for  him.  He  put  to  sea  on  August  2, 
and  the  next  day  orders  from  Washington  arrived 
directing  him  to  wait  in  Boston  for  further  instruc 
tions.  He  was  to  have  been  succeeded  by  Captain 
Baiiibridge,  his  senior,  exchanging  into  one  of  the 
smaller  frigates.  Mr.  Morris  was  particularly 
happy  in  writing  that  "the  decision  of  the  Cap 
tain  was  fortunate,"  although  Hull  might  have 
found  himself  in  an  awkward  position  for  sailing 
without  orders  had  his  ship  been  captured.  He 
was  lucky  enough  to  bring  back  a  sufficient  excuse. 
The  track  of  British  vessels  was  well  known,  as 
they  customarily  put  into  Halifax  and  the  Ber 
mudas  for  supplies.  The  triangle  formed  by  join 
ing  these  two  ports  with  New  York  seemed  likely 
to  contain  a  number  of  them,  and  Captain  Hull 
wished  to  explore  this  region  before  the  British 
could  shut  him  in  by  the  blockade. 


CHAPTER   IX 

DESTRUCTION    OF    THE    FRIGATE   GUERRIERE 

THE  Constitution  stood  to  the  eastward,  skirting 
the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  then  passed  leisurely 
across  the  entrance  to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence, 
to  a  point  near  Cape  Race,  which  is  supposed  to 
have  been  sighted  on  August  15.  During  this 
voyage  two  British  merchant-ships  were  captured 
and  destroyed.  The  crew  was  continually  exer 
cised  at  the  guns,  with  the  most  careful  attention 
to  every  detail.  It  must  be  remembered  that  they 
had  been  on  board  only  six  or  eight  weeks,  and 
were  in  the  enemy's  sea.  Off  Cape  Eace,  five 
sails  were  sighted  at  daylight  of  the  15th,  and  a 
chase  developed  them  into  a  fleet  of  four  vessels 
apparently  under  convoy  of  a  ship  of  war.  As 
the  Constitution  overhauled  them  very  rapidly  the 
ship  cast  off  a  brig  which  she  had  in  tow  and  made 
sail  to  windward,  leaving  the  brig  in  flames.  The 
other  vessels  were  directed  to  scatter.  The  first  of 
them  overtaken  proved  to  be  a  British  ship  on  her 
way  home  as  prize  to  an  American  privateer.  She 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  GUERRIERE       157 

had  been  spoken  by  the  British  fleet,  and  would 
undoubtedly  have  been  recaptured  if  the  Consti 
tution  had  not  appeared.  A  second  vessel  over 
hauled  and  boarded  proved  to  be  an  American 
brig  with  an  English  prize  crew  on  board.  She 
was  released  by  taking  out  her  prize  master  and 
crew  and  putting  on  board  men  taken  from  the 
Constitution. 

Captain  Hull  now  determined  to  change  his 
cruising-ground,  as  he  learned  from  some  of  the 
prisoners  that  the  British  squadron  which  had 
chased  his  ship  off  New  York  was  cruising  on  the 
Grand  Banks  quite  near  him.  On  August  16,  he 
therefore  headed  to  the  southward,  and  the  next 
day  gave  chase  to  a  brig,  which  he  found  to  be  the 
privateer  Decatur,  of  Salem.  During  the  chase, 
her  captain,  supposing  the  Constitution  to  be  a 
British  frigate,  had  made  every  effort  to  escape, 
and  had  thrown  overboard  twelve  of  his  fourteen 
guns  to  lighten  the  ship.  His  voyage  proved  pecul 
iarly  unfortunate,  as  he  had  not  made  a  single 
capture,  and  here  he  had  lost  his  battery  to  no 
purpose.  He  did,  however,  induce  Captain  Hull 
to  change  his  course  more  to  the  southward,  by 
telling  him  that  he  had  sighted  a  British  frigate 
cruising  in  that  direction  on  the  day  before.  At 
two  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  19th,  in  latitude 
41°  42',  longitude  55°  48',  a  sail  was  discovered 


158  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

from  the  masthead  bearing  about  E.  S.  E.,  and 
the  Constitution  bore  off  to  intercept  her  with 
all  sail  set  and  a  good  breeze  on  the  starboard 
quarter.  One  hour  later  she  was  made  out  to  be  a 
frigate  sailing  by  the  wind  on  the  starboard  tack. 
This  ship  proved  to  be  the  Guerriere.  She  had 
left  the  British  squadron  off  New  York  and  was 
proceeding  to  Halifax  for  repairs  and  equipment. 

She  maintained  her  course,  and  the  Constitu 
tion  approached  her  rapidly  under  a  fresh  breeze. 
At  five  o'clock  they  were  about  two  miles  apart. 
The  Constitution  took  in  her  light  sails,  hauled 
up  her  courses,  got  all  snug  below  and  ready  for 
action,  and  beat  to  quarters.  The  crew  gave  three 
cheers.  In  the  meantime  the  Guerriere  had  run 
the  British  ensign  up  to  each  masthead  and  had 
backed  her  mainsail  in  order  to  wait  for  her  enemy 
to  come  up.  At  5.05  she  discharged  her  starboard 
broadside  without  hitting  anything,  then  wore 
around  immediately  and  discharged  her  port  broad 
side.  Two  shots  took  effect,  but  most  of  them  were 
too  high.  The  Constitution  then  hoisted  an  ensign 
and  a  jack  at  each  masthead,  and  began  firing  with 
as  many  of  her  bow  guns  as  she  could  bring  to  bear. 
For  three  quarters  of  an  hour  the  battle  continued 
in  this  way,  the  British  ship  wearing  from  time 
to  time  to  fire  a  broadside,  and  the  American 
ship  yawing  to  avoid  being  raked  and  to  send  an 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  GUERRIERE      159 

occasional  shot  from  her  bow  guns.  Finding 
that  nothing  was  accomplished  in  this  way,  Cap 
tain  Hull  wore  around,  set  the  main  topgallant- 
sail,  and  headed  directly  for  the  enemy,  who  now 
bore  up  with  the  wind  on  the  port  quarter.  In 
this  position  the  two  ships  were  sailing  in  the 


CONSTITUTION 


DIAGRAM    OF    ACTION   BETWEEN  THE    CONSTITUTION   AND  THE 
GUERRIERE,  AUG.  19,  1812.      LAT.  41°  42'  N. ',  LONG.  55°  48'  W. 

same  direction,  with  the  Constitution  overhauling 
the  other  on  the  windward  side.  She  soon  closed, 
and  at  five  minutes  after  six  both  ships  opened  a 
very  heavy  fire  as  the  broadside  guns  began  to 
bear. 

Up  to  this  time,  the  greater  part  of  the  Ameri- 


160  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

can  crew  had  remained  at  their  quarters,  impas 
sive  spectators  of  what  was  going  on,  and  while 
they  were  running  up  alongside  of  the  Guerriere 
the  gunners  stood  with  locked  strings  in  their 
hands  waiting  in  silence  for  the  order  to  fire. 
Several  of  them  were  killed  beside  their  guns,  and 
Lieutenant  Morris  became  very  impatient  to  begin 
firing.  Hull  restrained  him.  The  situation  must 
have  been  extremely  trying  to  the  men  at  both 
the  sails  and  the  guns,  to  be  brought  thus  under  a 
heavy  fire  without  the  heartening  excitement  of 
striking  back.  The  order  came  at  last,  and  Hull's 
good  judgment  was  soon  demonstrated.  In  ten 
minutes  the  enemy's  mizzen-mast  was  struck  by 
a  carronade  shot  and  fell  over  the  starboard  side, 
knocking  a  large  hole  in  the  counter.  In  the  ex 
citement  of  the  conflict,  one  of  the  American 
sailors  exclaimed  at  this  moment,  "  Damn  it,  Jack, 
but  we  have  made  a  brig  of  her !  "  The  Constitu 
tion  passed  ahead  about  two  hundred  yards  off  the 
port  beam  continuing  her  fire.  At  twenty  minutes 
past  six  Captain  Hull  put  the  helm  hard  aport  to 
cross  the  Guerriere's  bow  and  rake  her,  but  many 
of  the  braces  had  been  cut  away  and  some  of  the 
sails  had  been  disabled,  so  that  the  ship  did  not 
swing  as  quickly  as  he  desired.  There  was  time 
to  fire  only  two  raking  broadsides,  which  did  fear 
ful  execution,  before  the  Guerriere's  bowsprit  and 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  GUERRIERE      161 

jib-boom  had  fouled  the  lee  mizzen  rigging  of  the 
Constitution.  While  they  were  entangled,  the 
Constitution  received  a  shot  through  her  cabin  and 
took  fire,  but  the  flames  were  soon  extinguished. 
The  Guerriere's  bowsprit  offered  so  convenient  a 
passage  for  boarding  that  Mr. 
Morris  got  up  on  the  taffrail  to 
see  if  the  British  were  collect 
ing  for  that  purpose.  He  evi 
dently  thought  they  were,  and 
Captain  Hull  was  therefore  in 
duced  to  call  away  men  to  repel 
the  boarders.  Captain  Dacres 
had  actually  given  the  orders  to 
board.  Mr.  Morris  endeavored 
to  pass  a  lashing  around  the 
Guerriere's  bowsprit  in  order  to 
keep  her  in  a  disadvantageous 
position,  but  he  was  shot  through 


the  body  and  fell  over  on  the  HANDING  UP  POWDER 
deck.  Lieutenant  William  S.  Bush,  of  the  Ma 
rines,  standing  near  by,  was  killed,  and  Mr.  Alwyn 
was  wounded  at  the  same  time.  The  log-book 
of  an  officer  on  the  Guerriere  states  that  the  wreck 
age  of  the  fallen  mizzen-mast  brought  the  ship  up 
into  the  wind  against  her  helm  (very  much  as  a 
drag  thrown  out  to  leeward  would  affect  a  ship 
under  way),  and  exposed  her  to  a  heavy  raking  fire. 


162  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

When  the  Constitution  wore  around  her  bow  she 
was  practically  helpless,  and  the  resulting  colli 
sion  must  have  weakened  her  standing  rigging ; 
for  immediately  after  they  separated,  the  foremast 
and  mainmast  went  by  the  board  and  left  her 
an  unmanageable  wreck  rolling  her  main-deck 
guns  under  water.  At  half  past  six,  when  even  the 
spritsail  yard  had  gone,  the  case  was  hopeless,  and 
Captain  Dacres  fired  a  shot  to  leeward  in  token  of 
surrender.  Captain  Hull,  seeing  that  the  Guer- 
riere  was  incapable  of  further  resistance,  stood  off  a 
few  ship's-lengths  to  reeve  new  braces  and  examine 
his  ship  for  injuries,  but  only  a  short  time  was  re 
quired  for  this.  At  seven  o'clock,  he  had  come 
about  and  placed  his  ship  under  the  enemy's  lee  in 
readiness  to  continue  the  fight.  Captain  Dacres 
immediately  struck  his  flag.  When  Lieutenant 
George  C.  Read  went  on  board  to  take  possession, 
he  found  the  spar-deck  a  horrible  spectacle.  The 
masts  and  yards  were  hanging  over  the  side,  many 
guns  were  dismounted,  and  the  bodies  of  the  dead 
and  dying  were  lying  as  they  had  fallen  amid  the 
tangle  of  ropes  and  rigging.  The  hull  was  in  a 
sinking  condition,  and  in  some  places  adjacent  port 
holes  had  been  knocked  into  one  by  the  tearing 
out  of  intermediate  timbers.  A  report  of  the 
ship's  condition  was  sent  back  to  Captain  Hull,  and 
his  boats  were  quickly  hoisted  out  to  remove  the 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  GUERRIERE       163 

prisoners.  A  surgeon's  mate  went  on  board  to 
assist  with  the  wounded. 

The  crew  which  surrendered  numbered  267. 
Fifteen  had  been  killed,  making  a  total  of  282  men 
in  all  at  the  beginning  of  the  action.  Ten  of  these 
were  Americans,  who  had  been  allowed  to  go  below 
to  spare  them  from  serving  against  their  own 
countrymen.  The  battery  of  the  Guerriere  was 
composed  of  thirty  long  18-pounders  011  the  gun- 
deck,  and  two  long  12-pounders,  one  18-pound 
carronade  and  sixteen  32-pound  carronades  on  the 
spar-deck,  or  forty-nine  guns  in  all,  firing  a  broad 
side  of  556  pounds.  Her  tonnage  was  1338,  or 
about  eighty-five  hundredths  of  her  adversary's. 

The  Constitution  carried  at  this  time  456  officers 
and  men.  Her  battery  has  been  given,  but  it  may 
be  re-stated  here  for  a  more  ready  comparison. 
There  were  thirty  long  24-pounders  on  the  gun- 
deck,  twenty-two  32-pound  carronades  on  the  spar- 
deck,  and  two  long  24-pounders  and  one  long 
18-pounder  as  bow  chasers  on  the  forecastle,  in  all 
fifty-five  guns  with  a  broadside  weighing  actually 
684  pounds,  nominally  736  pounds.  She  was  in 
every  respect,  in  size,  construction,  battery  and 
crew,  superior  to  her  antagonist ;  besides,  her  men 
were  vastly  better  trained  in  gunnery,  and  the  ship 
was  handled  with  greater  skill.  The  Guerriere 
lost  15  killed  and  63  wounded,  as  against  7  killed 


164  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

and  7  wounded  on  the  American  side.  One  of 
the  latter's  killed  was  accidentally  blown  from 
the  muzzle  of  a  gun  while  putting  in  the  powder, 
because  he  had  not  thoroughly  sponged  out  the 
powder-chamber.  There  was  no  comparison  in 
the  damage  inflicted ;  one  ship  was  practically 
destroyed,  while  the  other  was  ready  for  another 
chase  a  few  hours  afterwards.  Her  masts  and 
yards  had  received  a  few  shots  in  them,  and  some 
of  the  rigging  was  carried  away.  The  hull  hardly 
suffered  at  all.  Our  ship  is  said  to  have  ob 
tained  her  sobriquet,  "Old  Ironsides,"  during 
this  fight.  A  seaman  noticed  a  shot  strike  the  side 
and  fall  back  into  the  sea,  and  shouted,  "  Huzza, 
her  sides  are  made  of  iron ! "  Sir  Howard 
Douglass  says  of  this  battle  that  the  masts  of 
the  Guerriere  had  already  been  crippled  by  stress 
of  sail  and  by  decay,  and  that  several  of  the  guns 
and  carronades  broke  loose  owing  to  the  perishing 
condition  of  their  breechings.  The  decayed  state 
of  the  timbers  permitted  the  breeching-bolts  to  pull 
through  the  side.  He  admits,  however,  that  these 
untoward  circumstances  and  the  difference  in  size 
and  equipment  are  not  sufficient  to  account  for  the 
disparity  of  loss  in  killed  and  wounded.  There  is 
testimony,  on  the  other  hand,  that  Captain  Dacres 
thought  his  ship  an  uncommonly  good  representa 
tive  of  her  class. 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  GUERRIERE      165 

An  examination  of  the  Guerriere  and  an  at 
tempt  at  towing  demonstrated  the  impossibility 
of  getting  her  into  port,  and  Captain  Hull  gave 
orders  to  burn  her.  All  the  prisoners  were  taken 
out,  and  Lieutenant  Read  set  fire  to  her  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  20th.  She  blew  up  soon  after, 
and  the  Constitution  sailed  for  Boston,  where 
she  arrived  on  August  30.  Captain  Dacres  had 
closed  his  interview  with  an  American  frigate 
wounded  and  a  prisoner  of  war.  He  had  been  so 
eager  to  meet  one  of  them,  and  so  confident  of  the 
result,  that  he  had  written  a  challenge  on  the  reg 
ister  of  the  John  Adams,  a  merchant-ship  out  of 
Liverpool,  as  follows :  - 

"Captain  Dacres,  commander  of  His  Britannic  Ma 
jesty's  frigate  Guerriere  of  forty-four  guns,  presents 
his  compliments  to  Commodore  Rodgers,  of  the  United 
States  frigate  President,  and  will  be  very  happy  to 
meet  him  or  any  other  American  frigate  of  equal  force 
to  the  President  off  Sandy  Hook,  for  the  purpose  of 
having  a  few  minutes'  tete-a-tete." 

This  communication  would  indicate  a  vainglo 
rious,  swaggering  disposition,  but  Captain  Dacres 
seems  to  have  been  a  very  honorable,  conscientious 
officer.  His  report  to  Vice-Admiral  Sawyer  was  to 
the  point  and  perfectly  straightforward,  although 
he  did  not  agree  with  Captain  Hull  in  some  minor 
particulars.  He  says  of  his  captors,  "  I  feel  it  my 


166  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

duty  to  state  that  the  conduct  of  Captain  Hull  and 
his  officers  to  our  men  has  been  that  of  a  brave 
enemy ;  the  greatest  care  being  taken  to  prevent 
our  men  losing  the  smallest  trifle  and  the  greatest 
attention  being  paid  to  the  wounded." 

It  is  said  that  just  before  setting  fire  to  the 
Guerriere  Captain  Hull  asked  Captain  Dacres  if 
there  was  anything  he  would  like  to  save  from  his 
ship.  He  said,  "  Yes,  my  mother's  Bible,  which  I 
have  carried  with  me  for  years."  An  officer  was 
sent  to  get  it,  and  from  that  moment  a  friendship 
sprang  up  between  these  two  captains  that  lasted 
until  Hull's  death  in  1843. 

Another  story  exhibits  in  a  very  favorable 
light  the  character,  not  only  of  Captain  Dacres, 
but  also  of  a  Yankee  merchant  -  skipper.  An 
American  brig,  commanded  by  Elijah  Adams, 
bound  into  Boston  from  the  coast  of  Portugal,  was 
captured  by  the  Guerriere  not  long  before  the 
action  with  the  Constitution.  Her  cargo  was  salt, 
with  silk  stowed  between  decks ;  and  Dacres, 
after  taking  out  the  silk,  agreed  to  ransom  her  for 
three  or  four  thousand  dollars,  if  the  captain  would 
give  his  note  payable  in  Halifax.  His  son,  a 
second  Elijah  Adams,  was  left  on  board  as  hostage, 
or  guarantee.  After  the  Constitution  was  sighted 
and  her  nationality  made  out,  some  of  the  English 
crew,  by  way  of  chaffing  the  young  man,  told  him 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  GUERRIERE      167 

to  cheer  up,  that  he  would  have  plenty  of  company 
soon.  They  really  believed  it,  too.  He  was 
allowed  to  go  into  the  cock-pit  with  other  Amer 
icans  in  the  crew,  where  they  would  be  out  of  dan 
ger.  They  could  hear  the  firing,  but  could  not  see 
it.  After  the  surrender,  the  youth  was  transferred 
to  the  Constitution  with  the  prisoners,  and  reached 
Boston  in  ten  days.  His  father's  ship  was  a  slow 
sailer,  and  came  jogging  up  the  harbor  after  dark 
several  days  later.  The  old  gentleman  reached 
home  in  Sudbury  Street  at  midnight,  and  the  front 
door  was  opened  by  his  son,  the  hostage.  "  Well, 
where  in  thunder  did  you  come  from?"  he  ex 
claimed.  The  story  of  the  fight  was  soon  told.  A 
day  or  two  afterwards  Captain  Adams  had  an  inter 
view  with  Captain  Dacres  in  reference  to  the  status 
of  his  bond.  He  had  no  thought  but  to  pay  it, 
unless  some  arrangement  could  be  made  on  account 
of  the  capture  of  the  Guerriere.  Captain  Dacres 
said,  "  No,  that  money  belongs  to  my  crew.  I  will 
give  you  my  share  of  it,  but  I  can  not  relinquish 
theirs.  I  must  take  care  of  my  boys."  The  old 
captain  was  a  poor  man,  but  he  made  no  attempt  to 
evade  the  responsibility,  and  paid  his  note  on  that 
basis.1  Some  parts  of  young  Adams's  story  are 

1  The  story  of  this  bond  was  told  to  the  writer  by  Mr.  William 
Lincoln  in  his  ninety-third  year,  from  personal  recollections  of 
Elijah  Adams,  the  son. 


168  THE   FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

omitted,  as  they  are  only  repetitions  of  what 
appears  in  the  following  extract  from  the  private 
journal  of  Captain  William  B.  Orne,  published  for 
the  first  time  in  Coggeshall's  "  History  of  the 
American  Privateers." 

"  I  commanded  the  American  brig  Betsey,  in  the  year 
1812,  and  was  returning  home  from  Naples,  Italy,  to 
Boston.  When  near  the  western  edge  of  the  Grand 
Bank  of  Newfoundland,  on  the  10th  of  August,  1812,  I 
fell  in  with  the  British  frigate  Guerriere,  Captain 
Dacres,  and  was  captured  by  him.  Myself  and  a  boy 
were  taken  on  board  of  the  frigate  ;  the  remainder 
of  my  officers  and  men  were  left  in  the  Betsey,  and  sent 
into  Halifax,  N.  S.,  as  a  prize  to  the  Guerriere.  On 
the  19th  of  the  same  month,  when  in  latitude  41°  41' 
North,  longitude  about  55°  40'  West,  the  wind  being 
fresh  from  the  northward,  the  Guerriere  was  under 
double-reefed  topsails  during  all  the  forenoon  of  this 
day.  At  two  P.  M.,  we  discovered  a  large  sail  to  wind 
ward,  bearing  about  North  from  us.  We  soon  made  her 
out  to  be  a  frigate.  She  was  steering  off  from  the 
wind,  with  her  head  to  the  Southwest,  evidently  with 
the  intention  of  cutting  us  off  as  soon  as  possible.  Sig 
nals  were  soon  made  by  the  Guerriere,  but  as  they  were 
not  answered,  the  conclusion  of  course  was,  that  she 
was  either  a  French  or  an  American  frigate.  Captain 
Dacres  appeared  anxious  to  ascertain  her  character,  and 
after  looking  at  her  for  that  purpose,  handed  me  his 
spy-glass,  requesting  me  to  give  him  rny  opinion  of  the 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  GUERRIERE      169 

stranger.  I  soon  saw  from  the  peculiarity  of  her  sails, 
and  from  her  general  appearance,  that  she  was,  without 
doubt,  an  American  frigate,  and  communicated  the  same 
to  Captain  Dacres.  He  immediately  replied,  that  he 
thought  she  came  down  too  boldly  for  an  American,  but 
soon  after  added  :  '  The  better  he  behaves,  the  more 
honor  we  shall  gain  by  taking  him.' 

The  two  ships  were  rapidly  approaching  each  other, 
when  the  Guerriere  backed  her  main-topsail,  and  waited 
for  her  opponent  to  come  down,  and  commence  the 
action.  He  then  set  an  English  flag  at  each  mast-head, 
beat  to  quarters,  and  made  ready  for  the  fight.  When 
the  strange  frigate  came  down  to  within  two  or  three 
miles  distance,  he  hauled  upon  the  wind,  took  in  all  his 
light  sails,  reefed  his  topsails,  and  deliberately  prepared 
for  action.  It  was  now  about  five  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon,  when  he  filled  away  and  ran  down  for  the  Guer 
riere.  At  this  moment  Captain  Dacres  politely  said  to 
me :  *  Captain  Orne,  as  I  suppose  you  do  not  wish  to 
fight  against  your  own  countrymen,  you  are  at  liberty 
to  go  below  the  water-line.'  It  was  not  long  after  this 
before  I  retired  from  the  quarter-deck  to  the  cock-pit ; 
of  course  I  saw  no  more  of  the  action  until  the  firing 
ceased,  but  I  heard  and  felt  much  of  its  effects ;  for 
soon  after  I  left  the  deck,  the  firing  commenced  on 
board  the  Guerriere,  and  was  kept  up  almost  incessantly 
until  about  six  o'clock,  when  I  heard  a  tremendous  explo 
sion  from  the  opposing  frigate.  The  effect  of  her  shot 
seemed  to  make  the  Guerriere  reel,  and  tremble  as 
though  she  had  received  the  shock  of  an  earthquake. 


170  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

Immediately  after  this,  I  heard  a  tremendous  crash  on 
deck,  and  was  told  the  mizzen-mast  was  shot  away.  In 
a  few  moments  afterward,  the  cock-pit  was  filled  with 
wounded  men.  At  about  half-past  six  o'clock  in  the  even 
ing,  after  the  firing  had  ceased,  I  went  on  deck,  and  there 
beheld  a  scene  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  describe  ; 
all  the  Guerriere's  masts  were  shot  away,  and  as  she 
had  no  sails  to  steady  her,  she  lay  rolling  like  a  log  in 
the  trough  of  the  sea.  Many  of  the  men  were  employed 
in  throwing  the  dead  overboard.  The  decks  were  cov 
ered  with  blood,  and  had  the  appearance  of  a  butcher's 
slaughter-house ;  the  gun  tackles  were  not  made  fast, 
and  several  of  the  guns  got  loose,  and  were  surging  to 
and  fro  from  one  side  to  the  other. 

"  Some  of  the  petty  officers  and  seamen,  after  the 
action,  got  liquor,  and  were  intoxicated  ;  and  what  with 
the  groans  of  the  wounded,  the  noise  and  confusion  of 
the  enraged  survivors  of  the  ill-fated  ship  rendered  the 
whole  scene  a  perfect  hell." 

This  fight,  one  of  the  most  dramatic  in  our  his 
tory,  both  in  its  action  and  in  its  immediate  effect 
upon  the  country,  supplied  the  periodicals  with 
many  stories  which  have  been  told  and  retold  to 
generations  of  our  youth.  Naturally,  every  man 
in  a  crew  of  461  would  have  some  individual  expe 
rience  to  relate  which  lost  nothing  in  the  telling. 
The  time  of  enlistment  ran  out,  the  men  scattered 
to  other  ships,  and  the  tales  of  the  "  Old  Consti 
tution  "  which  within  a  generation  became  current 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  GUERRIERE      171 

throughout  the  service  would  fill  volumes.  They 
differ  more  or  less  in  detail,  and  some  would  not 
now  be  recognized  by  their  own  parents ;  yet  they 
all  agree  in  representing  Hull  as  a  fearless  and 
magnanimous  commander.  His  skill  and  coolness 
in  handling  a  ship  became  proverbial,  and  his  crew 
had  absolute  confidence  in  him.  It  is  said  that 
when  Captain  Dacres  was  climbing  up  the  side 
of  the  Constitution,  Hull  went  to  meet  him,  and 
reaching  out  his  hand  said,  as  to  an  old  friend, 
"  Dacres,  give  me  your  hand,  I  know  you  are  hurt." 

One  incident  connected  with  the  action  is  well 
authenticated.  The  flag  at  the  foretopgallant 
masthead  was  shot  away,  and  an  Irish  lad,  Daniel 
Hogan,  climbed  up  and  lashed  it  in  place.  He 
afterwards  had  his  hand  badly  lacerated  in  the 
action  with  the  Java  by  the  lead  flying  from  the 
scupper  through  which  a  shot  passed,  and  in  1844 
applied  for  admission  to  the  Naval  Asylum  for 
aged  seamen. 

In  order  to  comprehend  the  exultation  over  this 
victory,  it  is  necessary  only  to  consider  the  state  of 
the  country,  and  especially  the  discouragement  of 
the  port  from  which  the  Constitution  had  sailed. 
The  summer  of  1812  had  presented  a  gloomy  out 
look.  Incompetence  reigned  on  land,  and  the  cam 
paign  against  upper  Canada  had  proved  an  utter 
failure.  General  Hull's  surrender  on  land  occurred 


172  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

only  a  few  days  before  Captain  Hull's  triumph  on 
the  sea.  Nothing  was  expected  of  the  Navy. 
Many  merchant-ships  were  shut  up  in  Boston,  and 
trade  was  dead.  The  open  talk  of  secession  and 
the  dismal  prediction  of  disaster  served  only  to 
intensify  the  gloom.  The  appearance  of  the  Con 
stitution  was  like  a  bright  gleam  in  the  darkness. 
We  were  not  absolutely  impotent  after  all,  even 
against  the  greatest  sea-power  of  the  world,  and 
ship  for  ship  we  had  nothing  to  fear.  The  charm 
was  broken.  Here  was  something  over  which  all 
sections  alike  could  rejoice,  in  which  all  parties 
could  unite,  and  which  belonged  to  the  country  as 
a  whole.  It  is  small  wonder  that  some  people 
seemed  to  have  gone  mad. 

Captain  Hull  and  his  officers  were  received  with 
open  arms.  A  dinner  in  their  honor  was  given 
at  Faneuil  Hall  on  September  5.  They  were 
marched  up  State  Street  in  a  procession  with  many 
of  Boston's  leading  citizens  of  both  political  par 
ties,  and  thousands  lined  the  sidewalks  to  see  them. 
The  repast  was  what  the  Palladium  called  an  "  ex 
cellent  dinner."  It  must  have  been  interminable, 
for  seventeen  toasts  were  drunk.  From  these  the 
following  have  been  selected  as  an  evidence  of  the 
turn  given  to  public  opinion  :  — 

"  The  American  Nation  —  May  danger  from  abroad 
insure  union  at  home." 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  GUERRIERE      173 

"Our  Infant  Navy  —  We  must  nurture  the  young 
Hercules  in  his  cradle,  if  we  mean  to  profit  by  the  labors 
of  his  manhood." 

"  The  Victory  we  celebrate  —  An  invaluable  proof 
that  we  are  able  to  defend  our  rights  on  the  ocean." 

"No  Entangling  Alliance  —  We  have  suffered  the 
injuries  and  insults  of  despotism  with  patience,  but  its 
friendship  is  more  than  we  can  bear." 

A  more  substantial  reward  took  the  shape  of 
fifty  thousand  dollars  prize  money  voted  by  Con 
gress  for  the  officers  and  men,  a  gold  medal  com 
memorating  the  action  for  Captain  Hull  and  silver 
medals  for  the  other  officers.  Some  of  them  re 
ceived  swords  from  their  native  States. 

The  surprise  and  gloom  produced  in  England 
over  the  disaster  to  their  arms  was  equaled  only 
by  the  inability  to  explain  it*  One  English  news 
paper  reached  this  conclusion :  "  From  it  the  theory 
may  be  drawn  that  a  contest  with  the  Americans 
is  more  worthy  of  our  arms  than  we  at  first  sight 
imagined."  The  London  Times  added :  "  It  is 
not  merely  that  an  English  frigate  has  been  taken 
after  what  we  are  free  to  confess  may  be  called  a 
brave  resistance,  but  that  it  has  been  taken  by 
a  new  enemy,  —  an  enemy  unaccustomed  to  such 
triumphs,  and  likely  to  be  rendered  confident  by 
them.  He  must  be  a  weak  politician  who  does  not 
see  how  important  the  first  triumph  is  in  giving  a 


174  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

tone  and  character  to  the  war."  When  other  vic 
tories  followed,  the  despair  of  the  British  nation 
over  the  loss  of  a  few  ships  was  pitiful.  They 
simply  could  not  understand  that  they  were  fighting 
against  people  of  the  same  blood  and  sea  traditions, 
who  had  acquired  extraordinary  readiness  and  re 
source  by  nearly  two  centuries  of  warfare  against 
the  wilderness.  Their  newspapers  and  even  their 
naval  historian,  James,  could  not  find  words  vile 
enough  to  describe  us,  and  reference  to  our  frigates 
as  "  manned  by  a  handful  of  bastards  and  outlaws  " 
seemed  to  express  their  measure  of  contempt.  Our 
people  were  not  slow  to  retaliate,  and  we  have  no 
cause  to  look  back  with  pride  upon  the  average 
newspaper  articles  of  the  day.  Their  language 
was  boastful  and  often  abusive. 

The  first  anchorage  of  the  Constitution  upon  her 
arrival  at  Boston  was  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
southeast  of  Boston  Light,  and  a  few  hours  later 
she  moved  into  Nantasket  Koads.  Early  the  next 
day  a  fleet  of  five  ships  appeared  outside,  and  Cap 
tain  Hull,  fearing  the  English,  slipped  the  cables 
in  his  haste  to  avoid  being  cut  off  from  the  en 
trance  to  the  harbor;  but  a  few  hours  later  the 
ships  were  discovered  to  be  Commodore  Rodgers's 
squadron.  The  Constitution  was  taken  in,  how 
ever,  and  anchored  near  Long  Wharf  in  order  to 
parole  and  transfer  the  prisoners. 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  GUERRIERE      175 

On  September  3,  Commodore  Kodgers  called  for 
volunteers  to  go  out  in  the  President  to  meet  some 
British  ships  reported  on  the  coast,  and  sixty  men 
at  once  responded  from  the  Constitution ;  but  the 
report  turned  out  to  be  false,  and  the  men  were 
returned  three  days  later.  A  change  of  command 
ers  was  now  to  be  made,  and  the  ship  was  moved 
up  to  the  Navy  Yard  for  some  overhauling  pre 
paratory  to  hoisting  the  broad  pennant  of  Commo 
dore  William  Bainbridge  as  flagship  of  a  small 
squadron.  He  took  command  on  September  15, 
and  the  crew  expressed  their  dissatisfaction  so 
openly  that  a  number  of  them  were  sent  out  of  the 
ship  for  mutinous  behavior.  The  removal  of  Cap 
tain  Hull  was  in  no  sense  a  reflection  upon  him. 
He  had  commanded  his  ship  for  two  years,  and  now 
he  voluntarily  gave  up  in  order  that  Bainbridge 
might  have  an  opportunity.  The  next  six  weeks 
were  spent  in  refitting  and  taking  in  stores. 

The  officers  detailed  to  the  ship  for  this  cruise 
were :  — 

Captain,  William  Bainbridge. 

Lieutenants,  George  Parker,  Beekman  V.  Hoffman, 
John  T.  Shubrick,  Charles  W.  Morgan,  and  John  C. 
Alwyn. 

Sailing-master,  John  Nichols. 

Midshipmen,  Thomas  A.  Beatty,  Lewis  German,  Wil 
liam  L.  Gordon,  Ambrose  D.  Field,  Frederick  Baury, 


176  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

Joseph  Cross,  John  A.  Belcher,  William  V.  Taylor, 
Alexander  Eskridge,  James  W.  Delancy,  James  Green- 
law,  William  D.  McCarty,  Z.  W.  Nixon,  John  A.  Wish, 
Dulaney  Forrest,  George  H.  Leverett,  Henry  Ward, 
John  C.  Long,  John  Packett,  Richard  Winter,  and  John 
C.  Cummings. 

Chaplain,  John  Carleton. 

Surgeon,  Amos  A.  Evans. 

Surgeon's  Mates,  Donaldson  Yeates  and  John  D. 
Armstrong. 

Purser,  Robert  C.  Ludlow. 

Lieutenants  of  Marines,  John  Contee  and  William  H. 
Freeman. 


CHAPTER  X 

DESTRUCTION    OF    THE    JAVA  —  CRUISE    UNDER 
STEWART 

CAPTAIN  BAINBRIDGE  got  to  sea  on  October  27 
in  company  with  the  Hornet,  expecting  to  meet  the 
Essex  in  the  South  Atlantic,  where  they  were  to 
cruise  in  squadron  looking  for  British  East  India- 
men.  He  stopped  at  the  Island  Ferdinando  de 
Noronha  for  fresh  water,  and  left  a  letter  ad 
dressed  to  an  alias  for  Captain  David  Porter  of 
the  Essex.  This  ship  may  be  dismissed  with  the 
statement  that  Captain  Porter  obtained  this  letter 
about  the  middle  of  December  and  proceeded  to 
Cape  Frio,  the  rendezvous  appointed,  but  missed 
the  other  ships.  He  cruised  along  the  coast  look 
ing  for  them  another  month  and  finally  determined 
to  shift  for  himself.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
his  historic  cruise  in  the  Pacific. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Constitution  and  the  Hor 
net  had  arrived  off  San  Salvador  on  the  13th  of 
December.  The  voyage  would  have  been  unevent 
ful  but  for  constant  trouble  with  the  crew.  The 


178  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

log  contains  records  of  many  punishments.  Bain- 
bridge  does  not  appear  to  have  been  popular  with 
his  men,  at  least  not  until  after  the  meeting  with 
the  Java.  The  Hornet  was  sent  inside  of  the  port 
to  communicate  with  the  American  consul  and  to 
arrange  for  getting  some  stores.  She  found  the 
British  sloop-of-war  Bonne  Citoyenne  at  anchor  and 
about  to  sail  for  England.  Captain  Lawrence  of 
the  Hornet  conceived  a  hope  of  capturing  her,  and 
he  went  outside  to  await  her  sailing.  In  two  weeks 
his  patience  gave  out,  and  he  sent  a  challenge  to 
the  Englishman  to  come  out  and  fight  him.  The 
two  ships  carried  the  same  number  of  guns  and 
were  otherwise  equal,  but,  as  the  Bonne  Citoyenne 
had  on  board  a  quantity  of  specie,  her  captain  de 
clined.  It  would  seem  at  the  present  time  that  he 
was  perfectly  right.  The  most  humane  theory  of 
war  is  to  overpower  the  enemy  with  superior  force 
or  to  out-manoeuvre  him,  and  not  to  fight  with  pre 
cisely  equal  forces  except  as  a  last  resort.  War 
should  not  be  a  series  of  carefully  arranged  duels 
on  precisely  equal  terms.  The  correspondence  was 
carried  on  through  the  consuls  of  the  two  countries, 
and  Bainbridge  offered  to  pledge  himself  not  to 
interfere  in  any  way  between  the  combatants.  It 
is  difficult  in  these  days  to  see  how  an  American 
commodore  was  justified  in  entering  any  such  com 
pact.  The  presence  of  the  two  ships  off  the  port 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  JAVA 


179 


gave  rise  to  considerable  correspondence  between 
the  consul  and  the  governor  of  the  province,  who 
conceived  the  neutrality  violated  by  the  Hornet's 
entering  the  port  and  subsequently  establishing 


DIAGRAM    OF   ACTION    BETWEEN    THE    CONSTITUTION    AND  THE 
JAVA,   DEC.   29,   1812.      LAT.   13°   6'  8.  J   LONG.  3°  W. 

what  amounted  to  a  blockade.  He  claimed  that 
the  presence  of  hostile  ships  cruising  near  the 
coast  gave  great  dissatisfaction  to  his  people. 

At  the  time  of  the  challenge,  as  if  to  give  proof 
of   his  disinterestedness,  Commodore  Bainbridge 


180  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

left  the  Hornet  to  watch  the  Bonne  Citoyenne,  and 
sailed  for  a  cruise  off  the  coast,  with  the  evident 
intention  of  picking  up  anything  bound  into  San 
Salvador.  At  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
December  29,  about  thirty  miles  east  of  that  port, 
two  sails  were  sighted  rather  inshore  to  the  north 
ward.  They  were  coming  down  before  the  wind, 
which  was  blowing  from  the  N.  E.  The  Consti 
tution  was  heading  offshore  on  the  port  tack. 
An  hour  later  the  two  sails  were  made  out  to  be 
two  ships,  one  of  them  standing  towards  the  shore 
and  the  other,  a  large  frigate,  heading  directly  for 
the  Constitution.  Captain  Bainbridge  tacked  to 
the  northward  and  westward  to  get  a  better  look 
at  her,  and  judging  her  to  be  a  British  ship,  he 
came  about  once  more  to  draw  her  offshore  and 
away  from  her  consort.  The  private  signals  which 
he  hoisted  were  not  answered,  and  the  other  ship 
was  flying  signals  which  he  could  not  make  out. 
They  continued  on  parallel  courses  to  the  eastward 
for  nearly  two  hours,  the  British  gradually  over 
hauling  the  "  chase,"  as  they  call  the  Constitution 
in  their  reports.  This  ship  was  the  Java,  a  38-gun 
frigate,  bound  from  Spithead  to  the  East  Indies, 
and  her  companion  was  the  American  merchant- 
ship  William,  captured  a  few  days  before,  and  re 
captured  subsequently  inshore  by  the  Hornet. 
Shortly  after  noon  both  frigates  ran  up  their 


DESTRUCTION   OF  THE  JAVA  181 

colors,  the  Constitution  flying  national  flags  at  the 
mizzen  peak  and  the  main  topgallant  masthead, 
and  a  jack  at  the  foremast,  while  the  Java  flew 
her  ensign  at  the  mizzen  peak,  a  union  jack  at  the 
mizzen  topgallant  masthead,  and  another  union 
jack  lashed  to  the  main  rigging. 

At  half  past  one,  Bainbridge  had  gained  what 
he  considered  a  sufficient  distance  from  the  shore, 
and  his  ship  was  thereupon  headed  for  the  Java. 
Twenty  minutes  later  she  wore  around  to  avoid 
being  raked  and  steered  a  course  to  the  southward 

O 

as  close  on  the  port  tack  as  she  could  sail.  The 
Java  was  on  the  same  course,  but  well  to  wind 
ward,  occupying  almost  exactly  the  same  position 
relatively  to  the  Constitution  that  the  latter  had 
occupied  towards  the  Guerriere  at  the  beginning 
of  the  earlier  engagement.  At  two  o'clock,  both 
ships  having  shortened  sail  and  cleared  for  action, 
Captain  Bainbridge  fired  a  shot  across  the  bow  of 
the  Java,  then  about  half  a  mile  to  windward,  and 
immediately  afterwards  he  fired  a  whole  broadside, 
which  did  little  damage.  A  general  action  ensued, 
both  ships  manoeuvring  for  advantageous  posi 
tions.  They  were  a  little  too  far  apart  for  the  18- 
pounders  of  the  British  ship,  and  she  probably 
tried  to  close  in  order  to  use  her  carronades  more 
effectively,  while  the  Constitution  seems  to  have 
maintained  a  judicious  distance  until  her  opponent 


182  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

had  been  seriously  weakened  at  long  range.  There 
is  some  conflict  of  testimony  on  this  point.  Lieu 
tenant  Chads  states  in  his  report  of  the  fight  that 
both  ships  umaneuvred  to  obtain  advantageous 
positions,  our  opponent  evidently  avoiding  close 
action  and  firing  high  to  disable  our  masts,  in 
which  she  succeeded  too  well."  Captain  Bain- 
bridge,  on  the  other  hand,  writes,  "  A  general 
action  with  round  and  grape  then  commenced ;  the 
enemy  keeping  at  a  much  greater  distance  than  I 
wished ;  but  could  not  bring  him  to  a  close  action 
without  exposing  ourselves  to  several  rakes."  The 
Java  being  the  faster  ship  attempted  three  times 
to  pass  around  her  adversary's  bow  for  raking, 
but  Commodore  Bainbridge  avoided  him  by  fir 
ing  a  broadside  and  quickly  wearing  around  on  the 
other  tack  under  cover  of  the  smoke.  The  ships 
were  extremely  well  handled  on  both  sides.  The 
British  commander,  Captain  Henry  Lambert,  had 
the  disadvantage  of  losing  his  bowsprit  and  jib- 
boom  about  an  hour  after  the  beginning  of  the 
action,  and  from  that  time  on  he  seems  to  have  felt 
that  desperate  measures  were  needed  ;  for  he  or 
dered  his  ship  to  be  laid  on  board.  This  manoeuvre 
was  attended  with  failure  and  with  fatal  results  in 
the  loss  of  his  foremast,  although  the  ships  were 
actually  in  contact  at  one  time.  Soon  after  the 
attempt  Captain  Lambert  fell  mortally  wounded 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  JAVA  183 

by  a  shot  from  the  maintop  of  the  Constitution. 
The  musketry  of  the  Americans  posted  in  the  tops 
was  very  effective,  and  the  British  lost  many  men 
by  it.  On  the  other  hand,  the  marksmanship  of  the 
Java's  crew  was  exceedingly  poor,  as  they  inflicted 
little  damage  after  the  first  broadside.  This  broad 
side  had  nevertheless  been  very  destructive  to  the 
Constitution's  men.  Later  in  the  action  her  wheel 
was  carried  away,  but  too  late  to  affect  the  result. 
Commodore  Bainbridge  tells  the  story  of  the 
latter  half  of  the  fight  in  a  few  sentences  of  his 
journal.  "  At  forty  minutes  past  two,  determined 
to  close  with  the  enemy  notwithstanding  his  rak 
ing.  Set  the  fore  and  mainsail  and  luffed  up  close 
to  him.  At  fifty  minutes  past  two  the  enemy's  jib- 
boom  got  foul  of  our  mizzen  rigging.  At  three  the 
head  of  the  enemy's  bowsprit  and  jib-boom  were 
shot  away  by  us.  At  five  minutes  past  three,  shot 
away  the  enemy's  foremast  by  the  board.  At 
fifteen  minutes  past  three,  shot  away  his  main  top 
mast  just  above  the  cap.  At  forty  minutes  past 
three,  shot  away  the  gaff  and  spanker  boom.  At 
fifty-five  minutes  past  three  shot  away  his  mizzen- 
mast  nearly  by  the  board."  This  reads  almost  like 
target  practice.  In  less  than  an  hour  he  had  cut  off 
every  stick  of  timber  in  the  ship  excepting  part  of 
the  mainmast.  Few  of  the  Java's  guns  could  be 
handled  on  account  of  the  wreckage. 


184  THE   FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

At  five  minutes  past  four  the  Java  had  been  dis 
masted,  her  fire  completely  silenced,  and  her  flag 
shot  away.     Captain  Bain  bridge  therefore  hauled 
ahead  to  repair  rigging  and  examine  his  ship  for 
injuries.     Forty-five  minutes  later  he  wore  around 
and  stationed  himself  on  his  opponent's  bows.     In 
the  mean  time,  Lieutenant  Henry  D.  Chads,  who 
had  succeeded  to  the  command,  was  making  every 
effort  to  get  the  Java  in  a  condition  to  continue 
the  fight.     He  had  run  up  a  flag,  had  set  a  sail  on 
the  stump  of  the  foremast  and  bowsprit,  and  had 
cleared  the  wreckage  away  from  some  of  the  guns ; 
but  it  was  all  in  vain.     The  heavy  rolling  of  the 
ship   carried  away  the  remains  of  the  mainmast 
and  hampered  him  with  some  more  rigging  to  clear 
off.     Seeing  that  the   case  was  hopeless,  he  sur 
rendered  at  half  past  five,  and  Lieutenant  Parker 
was  sent  on  board  to  take  possession.     The  action 
had   lasted    something   over   two   hours   and    the 
Java   suffered   the   same   fate   as   the   Guerriere. 
Both  were  complete  wrecks.     These  two  ships  had 
the   same  battery  and  were  intended  for  similar 
crews,  but  the  Java  was  carrying  enough  additional 
men  as  passengers  to  bring  her  total  up  to  either 
377  or  426.     There  is  much  conflicting  testimony 
on  this  subject  and  on  her  casualties. 

The    Constitution    lost,   including    three    who 
subsequently  died,  twelve  killed   and   twenty-two 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  JAVA  185 

wounded,  the  commanding  officer  being  among  the 
latter.  He  remained  on  deck  late  into  the  night 
notwithstanding  two  very  painful  wounds.  Lieu 
tenant  John  C.  Alwyn  died  one  month  later  of  his 
injuries.  The  probable  loss  of  the  Java  was  forty- 
eight  killed  and  one  hundred  and  two  wounded. 
Lieutenant  Chads  reported  only  twenty-two  killed, 
but  a  letter  from  another  officer  was  discovered 
giving  the  number  as  sixty.  It  is  quite  likely  that 
only  twenty-two  were  killed  outright,  and  that 
many  died  of  their  wounds  soon  after  the  battle. 
Although  the  Constitution  was  the  superior  in 
every  respect,  and  suffered  somewhat  in  her  rigging 
and  masts,  there  was  no  comparison  in  the  relative 
injury  sustained  by  the  two  sides.  One  ship  was 
destroyed,  and  the  other  was  equal  to  a  long  voyage 
home  without  laying  up  for  repairs. 

As  stated  before,  the  Java  was  on  her  way  to 
India  with  a  number  of  extra  men  for  distribution 
in  the  fleet,  besides  Lieutenant  General  Hislop, 
newly  appointed  Governor  of  Bombay,  and  his  staff. 
They  all  rendered  service  in  some  capacity.  The 
gallantry  and  desperation  with  which  their  ship 
was  fought  is  shown  by  her  condition  after  surren 
der.  She  was  not  fit  to  make  a  voyage  to  the 
United  States,  and  Bainbridge  did  not  like  to 
take  her  into  San  Salvador,  whose  governor  was 
decidedly  unfriendly  to  the  American  cause.  He 


186  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

therefore  concluded  to  destroy  her.  Only  one  of 
the  small  boats  survived  the  contest,  fit  for  service, 
so  that  the  removal  of  the  prisoners  and  their  bag 
gage  was  very  tedious.  No  attempt  was  made  to 
take  out  the  valuable  stores  intended  for  Bombay, 
but  the  wheel  was  removed  and  fitted  on  the  Con 
stitution  to  replace  the  one  which  had  been  shot 
away.  Two  days  after  the  fight  the  Americans  set 
fire  to  the  Java,  and  she  soon  blew  up. 

Both  crews  fought  well  in  this  action,  and  there 
are  several  recorded  instances  of  enthusiasm  for 
the  flag  even  in  the  very  presence  of  death.  A 
seaman  on  the  Constitution,  John  Cheever  by  name, 
was  lying  desperately  wounded  by  the  side  of  a 
dead  comrade.  When  he  heard  the  words,  "  The 
enemy  has  struck  !  "  he  raised  himself  on  one  hand, 
gave  three  cheers,  and  fell  back  dead. 

In  the  proceedings  of  the  court-martial  to  try  the 
surviving  officers  and  crew  of  the  Java,  the  follow 
ing  testimony  from  James  Humble,  the  boatswain, 
is  interesting.  "  I  was  down  about  an  hour,  when 
I  got  my  arm  put  a  little  to  rights  by  a  tourniquet 
being  put  on  it  —  nothing  else  ;  my  hand  was  car 
ried  away  and  my  arm  wounded  about  the  elbow. 
I  put  my  arm  into  the  bosom  of  my  shirt,  and  went 
up  again,  when  I  saw  the  enemy  ahead  of  us  repair 
ing  his  damages.  I  had  my  orders  from  Lieuten 
ant  Chads,  before  the  action  began,  to  cheer  up  the 
boarders  with  my  pipe." 


DESTRUCTION   OF  THE  JAVA  187 

A  story  bearing  on  this  battle  is  told  of  Mr. 
Chads,  years  afterwards  an  admiral  in  the  British 
Navy,  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Stevens,  who  served  on  the 
Constitution  in  China.  In  1845,  she  went  to  Sin 
gapore  with  a  sick  list  of  two  hundred,  and  the  first 
man  to  welcome  her  with  offers  of  medical  assist 
ance  was  Commodore  Chads  of  the  British  squad 
ron.  He  remarked  to  Captain  Percival,  her  com 
mander,  "  The  Constitution  in  her  battle  with  the 
Java  was  mano3uvred  in  a  masterly  manner,  and  it 
made  me  regret  that  she  was  not  British." 

The  Constitution  anchored  in  San  Salvador  on 
January  2,  1813,  to  land  the  prisoners  on  parole. 
General  Hislop  presented  Commodore  Bainbridge 
with  a  gold-mounted  sword  as  an  evidence  of  his 
gratitude  for  the  kindness  and  consideration  with 
which  he  had  been  treated,  and  Lieutenant  Chads 
in  his  report  to  the  British  Admiralty  made  "  grate 
ful  acknowledgement  for  the  generous  treatment 
Captain  Lambert  and  his  officers  have  experienced 
from  our  gallant  enemy,  Commodore  Bainbridge 
and  his  officers."  When  Captain  Lambert  was 
carried  out  of  the  ship  to  die  on  shore,  Bainbridge, 
suffering  from  his  wounds,  came  on  deck  supported 
by  two  officers  to  bid  him  farewell  and  return  his 
sword.  The  contrast  at  that  time  between  the  dig 
nified,  magnanimous  bearing  of  the  participants  in 
this  action  and  the  tone  of  the  writers  who  sub 
sequently  described  them  is  very  striking. 


188  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

On  January  6  the  Constitution  sailed  for  home, 
leaving  the  Bonne  Citoyenne  still  bottled  up  by 
the  Hornet.  Commodore  Bainbridge  left  orders 
for  the  latter  to  remain  on  the  coast  as  long  as 
Captain  Lawrence  deemed  it  necessary,  but  warned 
him  not  to  let  the  British  line-of -battle-ship  Mon 
tague  catch  him  there.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  she 
did  chase  him  into  the  harbor  nearly  three  weeks 
later,  and  he  escaped  by  night.  On  his  way  home 
he  captured  the  British  brig  Peacock. 

The  Constitution  reached  Boston  on  the  last  day 
of  February,  and  Bainbridge  landed  next  day, 
saluted  by  the  cheers  of  his  countrymen.  Another 
procession  of  prominent  citizens  marched  up  the 
street,  and  another  dinner  was  given  in  honor  of 
the  Constitution's  victory.  The  Congress  of  the 
United  States  passed  a  vote  of  thanks  and  ordered 
the  usual  gold  and  silver  medals  to  be  struck  off 
commemorating  the  action ;  even  the  Common 
wealth  of  Massachusetts  waxed  jubilant  over  the 
triumph  of  our  arms.  Bainbridge  became  a  hero, 
and  later  when  he  went  to  Washington  the  citizens 
of  every  town  turned  out  to  honor  him.  He  found 
time,  however,  to  write  a  letter  concerning  the 
prize  money  for  his  officers  and  crew.  The  sum 
appropriated  as  prize  money  for  the  total  destruc 
tion  of  the  Guerriere  had  not  yet  been  paid,  as  they 
had  gone  to  sea  before  the  order  reached  Boston  ; 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  JAVA  189 

and  now  an  additional  150,000  was  appropriated 
for  the  destruction  of  the  Java.  Through  Com 
modore  Bainbridge's  efforts,  both  sums  were  paid 
over  to  the  men  within  six  weeks  after  they  arrived 
in  port. 

If  the  loss  of  the  Guerriere  took  the  English  by 
surprise,  the  capture  of  the  Java  carried  conster 
nation  to  their  hearts.  She  was  the  third  frigate 
lost  to  the  Americans  in  five  months.  Orders  were 
issued  immediately  that  no  frigate  armed  with  18- 
pounders  should  engage  a  frigate  of  24-pounders, 
if  the  action  could  be  avoided  ;  a  very  different 
state  of  rnind  from  that  which  expected  to  "  anni 
hilate  the  contemptible  Navy  of  the  United  States 
and  sweep  the  American  flag  from  the  sea  within 
a  few  months."  Line-of -battle-ships  were  cut  down 
to  frigates  and  sent  over  to  our  coast,  and  the 
British  squadron  was  largely  reinforced.  Added 
to  the  above,  our  position  in  Europe  was  vastly  im 
proved. 

These  victories  served  another  purpose  for  the 
time  being.  They  stimulated  Congress  to  renewed 
interest  in  the  Navy,  as  our  people  began  to  see 
where  their  surest  defense  lay.  It  was  too  late ; 
but  early  in  January,  1813,  Congress  passed  a  bill 
authorizing  four  line-of-battle  ships  and  six  addi 
tional  frigates.  None  of  these  got  to  sea  before 
peace  was  declared,  and  in  the  mean  time  our  small 


190  THE  FKIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

force  was  gradually  expending  itself  upon  its 
powerful  opponent.  Towards  the  end  of  the  war 
it  became  difficult  for  our  few  frigates  to  get  to 
sea,  so  closely  was  the  blockade  pressed. 

Soon  after  her  arrival  in  Boston,  the  Constitu 
tion  went  up  to  the  Navy  Yard  for  a  thorough 
overhauling.  Some  of  the  timbers  were  rotting, 
and  the  engagement  with  the  Java  had  weakened 
the  masts.  Commodore  Bainbridge  was  trans 
ferred  to  the  Yard  early  in  the  spring,  and  Cap 
tain  Charles  Stewart  succeeded  to  the  command. 
A  new  crew  was  shipped  late  in  the  fall  of  1813, 
and  almost  a  complete  change  was  made  in  the  list 
of  officers.  This  crew  was  composed  with  few  ex 
ceptions  of  New  England  men.  Old  Ironsides  had 
become  very  popular,  as  she  was  now  looked  upon 
as  a  lucky  ship,  so  that  there  was  no  longer  trouble 
in  getting  men  to  enlist  for  her.  Captain  Stewart 
sailed  on  the  last  day  of  the  year  for  a  cruise  to 
the  southward  and  eastward.  He  was  in  latitude 
10°  39',  longitude  40°  50'  W.,  on  January  26, 
looking  for  East  Indiamen.  Thence  he  skirted 
the  Guiana  coast  to  the  Windward  Islands.  In 
the  middle  of  January  he  captured  and  destroyed 
the  British  14-gun  schooner  Pictou,  carrying  a 
crew  of  seventy-five  men.  Nine  days  later  the 
British  frigate  Pique,  36  guns,  was  chased  through 
the  Mona  passage.  She  escaped  during  the  night 


CRUISE   UNDER  STEWART  191 

Her  captain  had  strict  orders  to  avoid  an  unequal 
contest,  and  his  ship  was  certainly  inferior  to  the 
Constitution.  This  cruise  was  filled  with  disap 
pointment  to  the  men,  as  they  were  constantly 
sighting  and  chasing  ships  only  to  find  them  Amer 
ican  merchantmen ;  but  they  managed  to  capture 


CHASE   OF   THE    CONSTITUTION   INTO   MAKBLEHEAD  HARBOR 

several  prizes  in  the  West  Indies  on  their  way 
home.  The  voyage  ended  on  April  2,  when  the 
ship  sighted  the  Portsmouth  light.  There  another 
surprise  and  narrow  escape  awaited  them. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  3d  they  were  head 
ing  for  Portsmouth,  but  at  sunrise  the  wind  shifted 
to  the  northeast  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  head 
around  for  Boston.  By  eight  o'clock,  the  wind  had 
hauled  around  to  the  N.  N.  W.  and  had  almost 
died  out,  when  suddenly  two  square-rigged  vessels 


192  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

were  sighted  to  the  E.  S.  E.  apparently  coming  up 
before  a  fresh  breeze.  They  were  soon  made  out 
to  be  men-of-war,  and  there  was  little  doubt  about 
their  nationality.  Captain  Stewart  was  now  in  a 
very  trying  position.  He  had  every  stitch  of  can 
vas  spread  to  catch  the  faintest  breath  of  air,  and 
he  lay  fully  an  hour  becalmed  about  three  miles 
southeast  of  Thacher's  Island.  At  ten  o'clock  he 
got  the  breeze  from  the  southeast,  when  the  two 
ships,  the  British  38-gun  frigates  Tenedos  and 
Junon,  were  only  three  and  a  half  miles  away 
directly  to  the  windward.  There  was  nobody  on 
board  the  Constitution  who  knew  the  channel  be 
tween  Baker's  Island  and  the  Misery,  otherwise 
Captain  Stewart  could  have  reached  a  place  of  safety 
at  once  by  heading  directly  for  Salem;  but  as 
he  had  no  pilot,  he  held  to  the  course  which  he 
knew  had  plenty  of  water  and  which  carried  him 
around  Halfway  Rock  at  the  risk  of  being  cut  off. 
Shortly  after  ten  o'clock  he  ordered  spare  spars, 
provisions,  and  some  prize  goods  thrown  overboard. 
Then  the  water  was  started  and  pumped  out. 
Finally,  finding  that  the  ship  was  too  much  by  the 
stern  and  was  only  just  holding  her  own,  he  started 
the  spirits  in  the  spirit-room  to  bring  her  to  her 
best  sailing  trim.  It  is  an  odd  commentary  on  the 
old  Navy  that  a  frigate  carried  enough  whiskey  to 
make  a  decided  difference  in  her  draught.  The 


CRUISE  UNDER  STEWART  193 

sacrifice  proved  effectual;  for  by  noon  she  had 
rounded  Halfway  Rock  and  squared  away  for  Mar- 
blehead.  From  this  time  on  our  old  ship  gained, 
and  by  one  o'clock  she  was  safely  at  anchor  under  V  ff\  &~. 
the  guns  of  Fort  Sewall,  with  the  Tenedos  and 
Junon  lying  six  miles  outside.  The  militia  was 
summoned  from  every  town  along  the  coast  to 
help  defend  her,  but  the  enemy  sailed  away  in  the 
afternoon,  and  Captain  Stewart  moved  into  Salem 
harbor  at  high  water.  He  remarked  to  the  pilot, 
Captain  Knott  Martin,  who  took  the  ship  over  to 
Salem,  "  I  could  have  saved  110,000  if  I  had  had 
you  on  board  this  morning,  as  I  had  to  throw  over 
board  that  amount. in  prize  goods." 

A  few  days  later  the  Constitution  slipped  into 
Boston  harbor  and  was  shut  in  for  eight  and  a  half 
months.  By  the  end  of  1813,  the  British  had 
ceased  to  deal  tenderly  with  New  England,  whose 
loyalty  to  the  Union  they  had  at  first  suspected. 
When  it  became  evident  that  the  project  of  bring 
ing  about  a  separation  through  Canadian  agents 
had  failed  utterly,  the  blockade  was  at  once  tightly 
drawn  about  the  whole  coast.  Other  frigates  were 
in  like  case  with  the  Constitution.  The  Constella 
tion  was  held  in  Norfolk,  and  the  United  States  in 
New  London,  until  the  end  of  the  war.  The  only 
possibility  of  getting  out  was  during  a  gale  of 
wind,  arid  Captain  Stewart  did  not  obtain  this 


.  J 


194  THE   FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

opportunity  until  the  winter  months  increased  the 
hardships  and  difficulties  before  the  English  sailors. 
The  citizens  of  Boston  were  very  much  alarmed 
over  a  threatened  attack  upon  the  principal  sea 
ports  of  New  England,  particularly  as  the  stores 
and  ships  at  the  Navy  Yard  presented  strong  in 
centives  to  the  British  squadron.  Commodore 
Bainbridge  made  every  possible  provision  for  de 
fense.  The  Independence,  a  line-of-battle-ship 
just  launched,  was  armed  with  a  few  guns  and  so 
anchored  near  the  Constitution  as  to  cover  the 
channel  into  the  harbor.  Several  batteries  were 
erected  on  the  shore  to  the  same  end.  The  militia 
of  Boston  and  Charlestown  volunteered  their  ser 
vices,  and  preparations  were  made  for  a  vigorous 
defense.  When  the  enemy  really  appeared  out 
side,  the  Commodore  wrote  a  letter  to  the  adjutant- 
general  of  the  State  requesting  his  cooperation, 
and  failing  to  stir  up  much  activity  on  the  part  of 
the  state  authorities,  he  wrote  a  second  time.  A 
committee  appointed  by  the  governor  suggested 
that,  as  the  ships  were  the  principal  object  of 
attack,  they  should  be  moved  below  Fort  Warren 
where  the  enemy  could  get  at  them  without  the 
risk  of  destroying  any  part  of  Boston  or  Charles- 
town.  This  was  positively  refused,  as  it  meant  the 
removal  of  our  ships  from  the  support  of  the  land 
batteries.  Not  even  the  corsairs  had  been  willing 


CRUISE  UNDER  STEWART  195 

to  sacrifice  their  ships  in  that  way.  The  old  Con 
stitution  was  probably  saved  once  more  by  the 
firmness  of  Commodore  Bainbridge.  He  never 
questioned  the  bravery  and  patriotism  of  the  Boston 
people,  but  he  attributed  their  blindness  to  the 
support  of  party  rather  than  of  the  nation.  Sub 
sequently,  when  the  danger  became  even  more 
threatening,  a  few  public-spirited  men  of  both  par 
ties  succeeded  in  securing  the  cordial  assistance  of 
the  State,  and  such  measures  were  adopted  as  to 
render  the  entrance  to  the  harbor -very  dangerous. 
The  British  squadron  prudently  drew  off  the  coast 
at  the  approach  of  winter. 

It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  while  the  Massachu 
setts  people  were  immensely  proud  of  their  ship, 
the  relation  of  the  state  troops  to  the  Federal  au 
thorities  was  not  well  understood.  The  governor 
conceded  that  the  President  had  power  to  call  out 
and  command  the  militia  when  it  was  necessary 
"  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  Union,  suppress  insur 
rection,  and  to  repel  invasion,"  but  in  his  opinion 
these  exigencies  had  not  arisen.  The  confusion 
over  the  defense  of  Boston  harbor  turned,  therefore, 
upon  the  question  of  the  President's  right  to  decide 
when  the  occasion  had  arisen  for  the  exercise  of 
the  authority  given  to  him  by  the  constitution. 


CHAPTER  XI 
CAPTURE  OF  THE  CYANE  AND  LEVANT 

THE  absence  of  the  British  finally  gave  the  Con 
stitution  a  clear  passage  to  sea.  In  December,  the 
blockading  force  consisted  of  the  50-gun  frigate 
Newcastle,  built  expressly  for  use  against  the 
American  44-gun  frigates,  the  40-gun  frigate 
Acasta,  and  the  18-gun  brig  sloop  Arab.  On  the 
12th,  the  Newcastle  was  off  the  entrance  to  Boston 
harbor,  and  discovered  that  the  Constitution  was 
ready  for  sea.  She  proceeded  at  once  to  Cape  Cod 
Bay,  for  some  unexplained  reason,  and  met  the 
Acasta  on  the  16th.  This  left  Boston  Roads  com 
paratively  open,  and  having  no  doubt  received  in 
formation  of  the  whereabouts  of  the  British  ships, 
Captain  Stewart  was  not  slow  to  take  advantage  of 
his  opportunity.  He  put  to  sea  on  December  18, 
and  succeeded  in  getting  entirely  clear  of  the  land 
without  molestation. 

The  senior  officers  on  board  at  this  time  were  :  — 

Captain,  Charles  Stewart. 

Lieutenants,  Henry  Ballard,  Beekman  V.  Hoffman, 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  CYANE  AND  LEVANT  197 

William   B.    Shubrick,    William   M.    Hunter,  Kichard 
Winter,  and  William  V.  Taylor. 

Sailing-master,  Samuel  C.  Hixon. 

Captain  of  Marines,  Archibald  Henderson. 

The  ship  was  headed  for  another  cruise  to  the 
southeast.  Eight  days  out,  near  the  Bermudas, 
she  overhauled  the  British  merchant-ship,  Lord 
Nelson,  parted  from  her  convoy,  in  distress,  and 
placed  a  prize  crew  on  board  of  her. 

The  log  for  Christmas  day  gives  the  fate  of  this 
little  vessel  in  the  following  brief  record :  — 

Sunday,  December  25.  —  Changed  the  officer  in  the 
prize  brig  —  she  not  keeping  sufficiently  near ;  after 
wards  took  her  in  tow  and  sent  people  on  board  to  break 
out  the  hold  and  remove  such  things  as  might  be  useful 
to  the  Constitution.  Sent  Lieut.  Taylor  on  board  with 
orders  to  cut  away  her  masts.  Through  some  miscon 
struction  of  his  orders,  he  scuttled  her.  Latitude 
33°  32'  N.  Longitude  59°  16'  W. 

In  the  early  part  of  February  they  were  cruising 
off  the  coast  of  Portugal,  having  visited  the  neigh 
borhood  of  the  Madeiras  and  the  Bay  of  Biscay 
in  the  interval.  On  the  8th,  Captain  Stewart  spoke 
the  barque  Julia,  fifteen  days  out  from  Cork,  under 
Hamburg  colors,  and  learned  that  peace  had  been 
signed  at  Ghent.  This  report  was  corroborated 
later  on  the  same  day,  as  stated  by  the  ship's  log. 


198  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

At  four  o'clock  a  boat  was  sent  to  board  "  a  Rus 
sian  brig  from  Kinsale  bound  to  Amelia  Island,  out 
fifteen  days.  Two  American  masters  of  vessels, 
passengers,  came  on  board  and  brought  papers 
which  confirmed  the  report  of  peace  having  been 
concluded  at  Ghent  between  the  commissioners." 

Such  news  did  not  dampen  the  ardor  of  our  sea 
men  for  one  more  good  fight,  and  the  ship  headed 
leisurely  down  the  coast  in  search  of  a  proper  an 
tagonist  ;  but  they  were  doomed  to  disappointment 
in  that  locality.  A  British  merchant  -  ship  was 
picked  up  on  the  17th,  and  sent  home  as  a  prize. 
Still  the  officers  and  men  suffered  great  discour 
agement  over  their  failure  to  repeat  the  former 
triumph  of  "  Old  Ironsides,"  and  it  was  with  ex 
treme  dejection  that  they  saw  the  cruise  ending 
without  an  important  capture.  By  one  of  those 
curious  fancies  which  sometimes  strike  men,  Cap 
tain  Stewart  one  morning  assured  them  that  they 
would  meet  the  enemy  before  sunset  the  next  day. 
He  headed  for  the  Madeiras  once  more,  and,  strange 
to  relate,  his  prediction  was  fulfilled. 

On  the  afternoon  of  February  20,  at  one  o'clock, 
a  sail  was  sighted  two  points  off  the  port  bow.  A 
light  haze  had  settled  down  over  the  water,  and 
objects  could  not  readily  be  made  out.  The  Con 
stitution  was  in  latitude  33°  44'  N.,  and  longitude 
14°  39'  W.,  on  a  course  between  south  and  south- 


CAPTURE   OF  THE   CYANE   AND   LEVANT    199 


west,  with  a  moderate  breeze  from  the  northeast. 
She  immediately  gave  chase,  and  soon  brought  a 
large  ship  into  plain  view.  Shortly  afterwards, 
another  sail  was  discovered  somewhat  to  the  west 
ward  of  the  first.  Both  were  standing  to  the 


DIAGRAM  OF  ACTION  BETWEEN  THE  CONSTITUTION  AND  THE 
CYANE  AND  LEVANT,  FEB.  20,  1815.  LAT.  33°  44/  N.,  LONG.  14° 
39'  W. 

northward  with  their  starboard  tacks  on  board. 
The  nearest  was  the  British  frigate  -  built  ship 
Cyane,  commanded  by  Captain  Gordon  Thomas 
Falcon,  and  the  other,  the  ship  sloop  Levant,  Cap 
tain  the  Honorable  George  Douglas.  They  were 
proceeding  in  company  from  Gibraltar  to  the  West 
Indies,  and  both  commanders  had  heard  before 


200  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

leaving  port  that  the  Constitution  was  in  the  neigh 
borhood.  At  four  o'clock,  the  Cyane  made  sail 
before  the  wind  to  join  her  consort  and  to  enable 
her  commander  to  consult  with  Captain  Douglas, 
who  was  his  senior.  In  the  meantime  the  Consti 
tution  was  bearing  down  upon  them  under  stud 
ding-sails.  At  half  past  four  her  main  royal  mast 
carried  away,  and  she  lost  some  distance  while 
getting  up  a  new  mast.  She  began  firing  her  bow 
guns  at  the  Cyane  about  five  o'clock,  but  the  shot 
fell  short.  Soon  afterwards  the  two  British  ships 
were  within  hail  of  each  other,  and  they  immedi 
ately  hauled  aboard  their  starboard  tacks  and  en 
deavored  to  gain  to  windward  of  the  Constitution. 
The  object  of  the  two  commanders  was  evidently 
to  delay  the  action  until  night,  when  by  manoau- 
vring  under  cover  of  darkness  they  might  hope  to 
succeed  in  crippling  their  opponent.  It  is  quite 
doubtful  if  Captain  Douglass  would  have  entered 
this  contest  but  for  two  valuable  convoys  that  had 
sailed  from  Gibraltar  at  about  the  same  time  his 
ships  got  away.  He  hoped  by  disabling  the  Con 
stitution  to  prevent  her  from  intercepting  them. 
Captain  Stewart,  on  the  other  hand,  had  exerted 
every  effort  to  get  in  a  few  blows  on  the  Cyane 
before  she  could  reach  the  support  of  the  Levant ; 
but  his  mainmast  delayed  him.  Neither  side  met 
with  a  full  measure  of  success  in  the  preliminary 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  CYANE  AND  LEVANT  201 

movements.  The  British  ships  failed  to  outwind 
the  Constitution,  and  were  forced  into  action  within 
supporting  distance  of  each  other  just  after  sunset. 
About  six  o'clock  they  ran  up  red  English  ensigns 
and  formed  in  a  line  with  the  wind  on  the  star 
board  beam,  the  Levant  being  two  or  three  ship's- 
lengths  in  advance.  The  Constitution  hoisted  her 
colors,  and  at  five  minutes  past  six  invited  the  con 
test  by  firing  a  shot  between  the  two  ships.  She 
was  at  this  time  only  300  yards  on  the  starboard 
side  of  the  Cyane  and  slowly  passing  her.  Broad 
sides  were  exchanged  immediately,  and  for  fifteen 
minutes  a  very  hot  action  ensued.  The  sea  was 
covered  with  a  light  mist,  and  the  moon  came  out, 
while  dense  masses  of  smoke  formed  to  leeward 
of  each  ship.  When  it  finally  cleared  away  from 
the  Constitution  she  found  herself  abreast  of  the 
Levant  with  the  Cyane  luffing  up  astern  to  deliver 
a  raking  broadside.  Captain  Stewart  quickly  fired 
a  broadside  into  the  Levant ;  then,  hidden  in  the 
smoke  of  his  own  guns,  braced  the  after  sails  aback 
and  went  astern  enough  to  pour  a  heavy  fire  into 
the  Cyane.  As  her  companion  wore  to  come  back 
to  her  assistance,  the  Constitution's  sails  were  again 
filled.  She  shot  ahead  and  fired  two  broadsides 
into  the  stern  of  the  Levant  as  she  was  turning. 
Captain  Falcon,  seeing  the  extremely  hazardous 
position  of  the  latter,  gallantly  stood  in  between 


202  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

the  two  ships  to  take  this  fire,  and  Captain  Doug 
las  immediately  drew  out  of  the  combat  with  his 
braces  gone  and  his  ship  badly  cut  up.  The  Cyane 
now  attempted  to  go  off  before  the  wind,  but  the 
Constitution  wore  short  around  and  gave  her  a  rak 
ing  fire  over  the  stern.  As  she  luffed  up  and  fired 
her  port  broadside,  Stewart  placed  his  ship  within 
hail  on  her  port  quarter,  where  he  held  her  practi 
cally  at  his  mercy.  Finding  the  case  hopeless,  Cap 
tain  Falcon  fired  a  gun  to  leeward  and  hoisted  a 
light  in  token  of  surrender,  just  forty  minutes  after 
the  first  broadside  had  been  fired.  His  ship  was 
hulled  a  number  of  times  between  wind  and  water, 
five  carronades  had  broken  loose,  much  of  the  rig 
ging  was  gone,  the  main  and  mizzen-masts  were  in 
danger  of  falling  over  the  side,  and  many  of  his 
men  were  disabled. 

Lieutenant  Hoffman  was  at  once  sent  on  board 
with  a  small  crew.  The  officers  were  removed  to 
the  Constitution  and  the  crew  left  on  board  under 
guard  of  fifteen  marines.  This  transfer  occupied 
nearly  an  hour,  and  at  seven  forty-five  Captain 
Stewart  filled  away  again  in  pursuit  of  the  Levant. 
But  Captain  Douglas  did  not  know  that  the  Cyane 
had  surrendered,  and  he  had  no  idea  of  running 
away  from  her.  He  had  simply  hauled  out  to 
reeve  new  braces  and  repair  damages.  At  eight 
o'clock  he  was  discovered  standing  for  the  Consti- 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  CYANE  AND  LEVANT  203 

tution,  and  forty  minutes  later  they  passed  within 
fifty  yards  of  each  other  on  opposite  tacks.  They 
exchanged  broadsides,  and  the  Constitution  headed 
around  under  the  stern  of  the  Levant  and  raked 
her.  Perceiving  now  that  the  Cyane  had  struck, 
Captain  Douglas  attempted  to  run,  but  it  was  too 
late.  His  wheel  had  been  shot  away  in  the  last 
broadside,  and  his  lower  masts  had  been  badly 
wounded.  After  a  chase  of  half  an  hour  he  sur 
rendered,  and  Lieutenant  Ballard  was  sent  to  take 
possession.  Three  hours  sufficed  to  put  the  Consti 
tution  in  good  fighting  trim  once  more  and  to  trans 
fer  some  of  the  prisoners. 

This  battle  is  noted  for  the  splendid  seamanship 
of  the  Americans  and  the  gallant  behavior  of  the 
English.  Captain  Stewart  had  succeeded,  by  run 
ning  and  backing  from  one  ship  to  the  other,  in 
fighting  each  separately,  and  in  preventing  his  own 
ship  from  being  raked.  There  is  nothing  finer  in 
our  annals.  He  had  the  advantage  of  the  weather 
gauge  from  the  start,  and  his  movements  were 
often  obscured  by  the  haze  and  smoke.  A  large 
part  of  the  action  was  fought  by  moonlight.  The 
British  ships,  being  smaller  and  lighter,  were 
much  more  easily  disabled  than  the  Constitution, 
and  their  batteries  were  less  formidable.  This 
does  not  appear  to  be  so  if  the  total  weight  of 
broadside  is  taken  as  a  measure  of  their  power. 


201  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

The  Cyane  carried  twenty-two  32-pound  carron- 
ades  on  her  gun-deck,  and  ten  18-pound  carronades 
and  two  long  12-pounders  on  her  spar-deck, — 
thirty-four  guns  in  all,  firing  a  broadside  of  454 
pounds.  The  battery  of  the  Levant  was  all  on 
one  deck :  eighteen  32-pound  carronades,  two  long 
9-pounders,  and  one  shifting  12-pounder,  throwing 
309  pounds  of  metal  at  one  broadside.  Thus  the 
total  broadside  fire  of  the  two  ships  was  763 
pounds,  as  compared  with  a  nominal  weight  of  704 
pounds  on  the  Constitution ;  but  the  English  guns 
were  less  effective  at  short  range,  and  the  sides  of 
their  ships  were  much  lighter  and  more  vulnerable 
than  those  of  their  antagonist.  It  was  something 
akin  to  a  battle  between  a  modern  armored  ship 
and  two  smaller  protected  cruisers  whose  guns 
have  to  be  used  at  close  quarters  to  do  any  great 
amount  of  damage.  Captain  Stewart,  however,  did 
not  take  advantage  of  his  long  guns,  as  he  prob 
ably  thought  he  had  a  better  chance  of  capturing 
both  ships  by  coming  to  close  quarters  at  once. 
The  crew  of  the  Constitution  numbered  451  men 
at  this  time,  and  she  lost  6  killed  and  9  wounded. 
Her  antagonists  lost  19  killed  and  42  wounded,  out 
of  a  total  of  320.  The  Cyane  carried  180  men, 
and  her  share  of  the  casualties  was  38,  while  the 
Levant  had  140  men  and  lost  23.  The  disparity 
on  the  two  sides  was  therefore  very  great,  both  in 
casualties  and  damages. 


CHARLES  STEWART 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  CYANE  AND  LEVANT  205 

This  was  the  last  great  fight  of  our  old  ship,  as 
it  was  the  last  frigate  action  of  the  war.  It  may 
be  a  delicate  question  of  ethics  whether  Captain 
Stewart  ought  to  have  gone  into  it  or  not,  know 
ing  that  peace  had  been  declared.  The  English 
men  probably  knew  it  also ;  but  the  fighting 
spirit  which  made  of  naval  war  a  series  of  duels 
still  prevailed,  and  they  would  have  been  con 
demned  as  cowards  had  any  of  them  shown  signs 
of  hesitancy.  Besides,  it  was  not  known  that  the 
treaty  had  been  accepted  by  the  two  governments. 

This  battle  has  left  us  the  usual  number  of 
stories,  most  of  which  have  no  greater  value  than 
the  ordinary  newspaper  report.  One  incident  is 
interesting  for  the  glimpse  it  affords  us  of  the 
Yankee  sailor's  peculiarities.  When  the  tub  of 
grog  was  brought  on  deck  for  serving  out  just  be 
fore  the  action  began,  the  men  turned  it  into  the 
scuppers,  saying  the}r  wanted  "  no  Dutch  courage 
on  board."  It  may  be  added  that  they  promptly 
sent  a  request  into  the  cabin  for  the  customary 
issue  after  the  action.  In  connection  with  this 
combat,  a  queer  tale  is  told  by  Cooper  as  a  warn 
ing  against  committing  men  to  the  deep  before 
ascertaining  that  they  are  dead.  "The  light  of 
the  moon  proved  of  great  service  to  one  poor  fel 
low.  In  the  heat  of  the  combat,  a  man  at  one 
of  the  forecastle  guns  fell  at  the  precise  moment 


206  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

when  a  shot  entered  near  him.  He  was  reported 
dead,  and  an  order  was  given  to  pass  the  body 
across  the  deck,  and  to  throw  it  overboard.  A 
midshipman  and  two  men  were  thus  employed, 
but  were  baffled  in  endeavoring  to  pass  the  shoul 
ders  through  a  port.  The  midshipman  sprang 
over  into  the  fore-chains  to  assist,  when  he  saw 
some  muscles  of  the  supposed  dead  man's  face 
twitching,  and  he  ordered  the  body  drawn  back, 
and  passed  below  to  the  surgeons.  Before  the 
Levant  struck,  the  man  was  back  at  his  gun,  fight 
ing  as  well  as  the  rest  of  them.  He  was  subject 
to  fits  and  had  fallen  in  one,  but  recovered  in  time 
to  return  to  his  quarters.  The  story  should  be 
told,  as  a  warning  against  haste  in  such  cases. 
Thousands  are  buried  alive  on  shore,  and  living 
men  are  sometimes  committed  to  the  deep  in  the 
hurry  of  sea-fights." 

Among  the  anecdotes  of  this  action  there  is 
another  which  relates  that  a  shot  killed  two  men 
in  the  waist,  passed  through  a  boat  in  which  two 
tigers  were  chained  and  lodged  in  the  head  of  a 
spar. 

The  intercourse  between  the  British  and  their 
captors  does  not  appear  to  have  been  as  pleasant 
and  cordial  as  upon  former  occasions.  The  log  of 
the  Constitution  abounds  in  such  statements  as  the 
following :  — 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  CYANE  AND  LEVANT  207 

"  Complaint  by  prisoners  of  having  lost  various  arti 
cles.  Thorough  search  made  for  them." 

"  Mustered  all  hands  with  their  bags  and  made  thor 
ough  search  of  all  parts  of  the  ship  for  missing  articles ; 
found  a  few  old  coats,  but  nothing  of  any  consequence. 
Ordered  all  the  prisoners'  baggage  put  into  the  empty 
bread  room,  locked  up  and  key  given  to  the  first  lieu 
tenant  with  orders  to  let  none  go  into  it  without  an  offi 
cer  of  the  Constitution  being  present." 

"The  prisoners  orderly  except  some  of  the  British 
officers  of  whom  this  ship's  wardroom  officers  com 
plained  that  they  did  not  conduct  themselves  below  like 
gentlemen,  being  in  their  language  indecent,  vulgar  and 
abusive  to  each  other." 

"  Captain  Stewart  visited  the  Cyane  in  company  with 
Captain  Falcon  who  wished  to  see  the  wounded  men, 
found  them  all  doing  well." 

"  Another  search  among  the  Constitution's  crew  but 
little  found.  Found  much  clothing  among  the  prison 
ers.  It  appeared  that  after  the  ships  had  struck  their 
colors  that  their  men  broke  into  the  Spirit  and  Slop 
rooms  and  officers'  apartments  and  pillaged  all  they 
could." 

"  Landed  prisoners.  Another  quarrel  about  articles 
stolen  from  British  prisoners  and  another  search." 

The  day  after  the  battle  was  spent  in  overhaul 
ing  and  repairing  the  spars  of  the  two  prizes  and 
in  getting  them  ready  for  their  voyage  home. 


208  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

Captain  Stewart  decided  to  run  down  to  the  Cape 
Verde  Islands  in  preference  to  the  Madeiras  to  land 
his  prisoners,  probably  because  there  was  less  like 
lihood  of  meeting  a  British  squadron.  He  arrived 
at  Port  Praya  on  the  10th  of  March,  and  an  Eng 
lish  brig  was  soon  chartered  to  serve  as  a  cartel. 
One  hundred  of  the  prisoners  were  put  on  board 
to  get  her  ready  for  sea.  Others  were  landed  from 
the  Levant  during  the  next  day  and  preparations 
were  made  for  the  transfer  of  their  effects.  The 
work  was  delayed  by  a  very  thick  low-lying  fog, 
which  was  destined  to  bring  the  Constitution  nearer 
to  capture  than  she  had  ever  been,  and  likewise  to 
facilitate  her  escape. 

At  a  few  minutes  past  noon  of  the  12th,  the 
upper  sails  of  a  large  ship  were  discovered  above 
the  fog  quite  close  in,  and  immediately  afterwards 
two  other  large  ships  hove  in  sight,  apparently 
standing  for  the  port.  It  is  said  that  these  sails 
were  first  discovered  by  an  English  midshipman, 
who  called  to  his  captain  to  "  look  at  the  large  ship 
in  the  offing."  Lieutenant  Shubrick,  serving  as 
first  lieutenant  of  the  Constitution,  also  looked,  and 
at  once  reported  the  discovery  to  Captain  Stewart, 
who  was  shaving  in  his  cabin.  He  ordered  the 
anchor  up  to  go  outside  for  a  look  at  the  stranger, 
but  when  the  other  sails  were  reported  he  sent 
word  to  cut  the  cable  and  to  signal  the  Cyane  and 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  CYANE  AND  LEVANT    209 

Levant  to  get  under  way.  He  states  in  his  log 
that  he  suspected  the  ships  to  be  part  of  the 
enemy's  squadron,  and  deemed  it  most  prudent  to 
put  to  sea,  as  the  English  had  hitherto  paid  little 
respect  to  neutral  waters,  especially  of  the  coun 
tries  which  had  no  navies.  He  was  doubtless  in 
fluenced,  too,  by  the  decided  unfriendliness  of  the 
Portuguese  governor.  Within  fifteen  minutes 
after  the  first  alarm,  the  Constitution  was  standing 
out  of  the  harbor  under  topsails,  followed  closely 
by  her  prizes.  The  Portuguese  batteries  opened 
fire  on  them,  manned,  it  is  said,  by  the  English 
sailors  who  had  been  landed,  but  no  damage  was 
done.  Preparations  were  made  for  meeting  the 
strange  ships,  and  additional  sails  were  hoisted 
as  rapidly  as  possible.  As  they  cleared  the  en 
trance  close  under  East  Point,  they  headed  on  the 
port  tack  to  the  eastward  along  the  shore  and 
passed  within  range  of  the  nearest  ship.  The 
strangers,  observing  that  they  were  trying  to  get 
away,  tacked  and  made  all  sail  in  chase.  Only 
the  sails  could  be  seen  above  the  thick  fog,  and 
neither  side  could  quite  make  out  the  other.  Cap 
tain  Stewart  supposed  the  new  comers  to  be  two 
British  ships  of  the  line  and  one  frigate,  and  he 
immediately  ordered  the  first  cutter  and  gig  to  be 
cut  loose  from  the  stern.  The  English  prisoners 
soon  recognized  them  to  be  the  squadron  of  Sir 


210  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

George  Ralph  Collier,  two  50-gun  frigates,  Lean- 
der  and  Newcastle,  built  expressly  to  outclass  the 
American  frigates,  and  the  Acasta  of  40  guns. 

These  ships  had  left  the  coast  of  North  America 
in  pursuit  of  the  Constitution  shortly  after  her 
escape  from  Boston.  It  seems  that  the  Leander 
met  the  Newcastle  and  Acasta  in  Cape  Cod  Bay 
on  the  24th  of  December.  Captain  Collier  got  hold 
of  a  story  that  the  Constitution  had  gone  to  sea  to 
meet  the  President  and  the  Congress.  As  amus 
ingly  stated  by  an  English  historian,  this  story, 
"  whether  derived  from  fishermen,  cattle  dealers,  or 
any  other  of  the  cunning  New  England  folk,  was 
credited  by  Sir  George  Collier,"  and  he  hurried 
all  three  ships  to  sea  in  pursuit  of  the  "  Constitution 
and  the  two  other  heavy  frigates."  He  cruised  in 
the  Western  Islands,  and  was  fooled  again  by  an 
other  cunning  Yankee,  who  pretended  to  take  his 
ships  for  the  very  squadron  he  was  in  search  of. 
The  conviction  that  he  would  find  three  American 
frigates  together  may  have  affected  his  eyesight  at 
Port  Praya.  At  any  rate  it  explains  his  extreme 
caution  and  consequent  bungling  of  the  chase  which 
followed. 

The  chase  became  very  exciting,  as  the  two 
larger  vessels  held  their  own  on  the  lee  quarter  of 
the  Constitution,  and  the  Acasta  was  gradually 
making  to  windward  of  her.  The  Cyane  was  in 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  CYANE  AND  LEVANT  211 

great  danger.  She  dropped  astern  and  to  leeward 
so  rapidly  that  a  little  after  one  o'clock  Stewart 
signaled  her  to  tack  to  the  northward  and  west 
ward.  He  expected  this  to  detach  one  of  the 
enemy's  ships  in  pursuit,  but  it  did  not.  They  kept 
steadily  on,  and  the  Cyane  soon  disappeared.  The 
Levant  also  lost  distance,  and  an  hour  later  she 
too  was  ordered  to  tack.  The  enemy  had  crept 


ESCAPE   OF   THE   CONSTITUTION   FROM  BRITISH    FLEET  AT    PORT 
PRAYA. 

up  close  enough  to  fire  a  number  of  broadsides  at 
the  Constitution,  the  shot  falling  short,  but  it  was 
dangerous  work.  The  least  mistake  or  accident 
meant  the  loss  of  the  ship.  As  Stewart  says  in  his 
log,  "  It  became  necessary  to  separate  from  the 
Levant  or  to  risk  being  brought  into  action  to 
cover  her."  "  The  whole  of  the  enemy's  squadron 
tacked  in  pursuit  of  the  Levant  and  gave  over  the 
pursuit  of  this  ship."  "  This  sacrifice  of  the  Levant 
became  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the  Con- 


212  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

stitution."  The  squadron  quickly  disappeared,  to 
the  great  grief  of  the  English  prisoners,  and  our 
frigate  was  left  free  to  pursue  her  course  for  home. 
In  explanation  of  the  movements  of  the  English 
ships  we  must  take  into  consideration  Captain 
Collier's  belief  that  he  had  three  strong  frigates  to 
deal  with.  The  fog  effectually  hid  the  guns  on  both 
sides.  A  few  minutes'  clear  weather  would  have 
shown  him  the  true  character  of  his  opponents,  and 
the  Constitution  would  probably  have  ended  her 
days  in  England.  When  the  Cyane  tacked,  he  did 
not  wish  to  weaken  his  fleet  against  the  two  remain 
ing  ships ;  and  when  the  Levant  also  went  about 
he  signaled  the  Acasta,  the  only  ship  able  to  wea 
ther  the  Constitution,  to  tack  in  pursuit.  This  left 
two  ships  in  chase  of  one,  and  one  ship  in  chase  of 
the  two  which  had  tacked  to  the  westward.  The 
Leander's  first  lieutenant  then  suggested  that  if  the 
two  ships  which  had  stood  away  from  the  fleet  were 
really  frigates,  they  would  be  more  than  a  match 
for  the  Acasta,  and  Captain  Collier  thereupon 
determined  to  go  about  with  his  other  two  ships. 
Although  subsequent  discoveries  made  the  English 
officers  feel  very  sore  over  this  chase,  the  judg 
ment  of  the  commanding  officer  had  an  element 
of  soundness  in  it.  He  expected  to  find  two  heavy 
American  frigates  in  Port  Praya,  where  they  would 
fall  an  easy  prey  to  his  squadron,  if  kept  together. 
Divided,  they  were  not  certain  of  getting  anything. 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  CYANE  AND  LEVANT  213 

The  Constitution  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  an 
chored  in  Maranham  on  April  2  ;  then,  after  one 
more  row  over  stolen  articles,  the  remaining  pris 
oners  were  landed.  Stewart  next  hove  to  off  the 
harbor  of  San  Juan,  Porto  Rico,  to  ascertain  the 
condition  of  national  affairs,  and  received  positive 
information  from  the  governor  that  the  treaty  of 
peace  had  been  ratified.  He  arrived  in  New  York 
and  anchored  abreast  of  the  Battery  on  the  after 
noon  of  May  15,  1815,  thus  ending  another  lucky 
cruise  for  "  Old  Ironsides."  The  fate  of  her  prizes 
was  soon  learned.  The  Cyane  reached  New  York 
in  April.  Lieutenant  Hoffman's  anxiety  during 
his  passage  of  four  weeks  must  have  been  very 
great.  He  lost  sight  of  all  the  ships  within  half  an 
hour  after  tacking  in  obedience  to  Captain  Stew 
art's  signal.  About  an  hour  afterwards,  he  heard 
a  heavy  cannonading  which  continued  for  a  long 
time,  but  as  there  was  nothing  to  be  gained  by  his 
going  back  to  the  assistance  of  the  Constitution,  he 
shaped  his  course  for  the  United  States. 

The  Levant,  on  the  other  hand,  had  fared  badly. 
After  tacking,  she  was  so  close  pressed  by  the  Brit 
ish  squadron  that  Lieutenant  Ballard  put  back  into 
Port  Praya.  The  neutrality  of  the  harbor,  as 
Captain  Stewart  had  supposed,  afforded  no  protec 
tion  whatever.  The  Newcastle  and  Acasta  opened 
fire  on  her,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  flag 


214  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

was  hauled  down.  Lieutenant  Ballard  ordered  his 
men  to  lie  down  on  the  deck,  and  fortunately  not 
one  of  them  was  hurt.  The  shot  did  some  damage 
in  the  town,  however,  and  Captain  Collier  had  to 
pacify  the  governor.  When  an  English  lieutenant 
came  over  the  side  to  take  possession  of  the  Levant, 
he  supposed  she  was  the  American  sloop  Hornet, 
and  the  only  satisfaction  poor  Ballard  got  out  of 
the  adventure  was  in  disabusing  his  mind  of  the 
error. 

The  treaty  of  peace  was  ratified  on  February 
17,  and  hostilities  were  to  cease  upon  ratification, 
so  that  Stewart's  capture  came  three  days  after 
the  war  was  over.  Thirty  days  were  allowed  for 
the  cessation  of  hostilities  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
Atlantic,  and  all  prizes  taken  after  that  were  to 
be  surrendered.  The  Cyane  was  therefore  retained 
in  our  service.  The  principle  upon  which  Captain 
Stewart  had  proceeded  in  continuing  offensive 
operations  after  he  knew  that  peace  was  assured 
seems  to  have  been  considered  sound  at  that  time. 
It  was  followed  by  the  British  and  Americans 
alike,  although  it  seems  now  to  have  led  to  a  need 
less  loss  of  life. 

It  is  curious  that  impressment,  the  chief  griev 
ance  of  the  war,  was  not  mentioned  in  the  treaty. 
England  has  never  formally  given  up  the  right  she 
claimed  at  that  time,  but  it  has  never  since  been 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  CYANE  AND  LEVANT  215 

exercised  against  the  United  States,  and  it  seems 
doubtful  if  it  will  ever  be  attempted  again.  Our 
Navy  has  acquired  a  very  different  footing  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  the  removal  of  sailors 
from  our  ships,  even  by  a  belligerent,  would  doubt 
less  be  regarded  as  a  cause  of  war. 

The  success  of  the  War  of  1812  cannot  be 
credited  to  one  frigate,  yet  the  Constitution  ab 
sorbed  the  largest  amount  of  attention,  as  she  did 
by  far  the  greatest  damage  to  British  armed  ships 
upon  the  sea.  The  guns  captured  by  her  amounted 
to  more  than  half  the  number  taken  from  all  the 
British  ocean  cruisers.  In  all  her  subsequent 
cruising,  she  became  an  object  of  interest  to  the 
English  people,  as  she  had  already  acquired  the 
respect  of  British  officers.  Captain  Dacres  visited 
her  in  Malta  fully  a  generation  after  his  defeat. 
Lieutenant  Chads's  visit  in  China  has  already  been 
mentioned. 


CHAPTER   XII 

CRUISES   AND   INCIDENTS    SUBSEQUENT   TO   THE 
WAK   OF   1812 

THE  trouble  with  Algiers  broke  out  afresh  dur 
ing  the  war,  while  we  were  unable  to  protect  our 
merchant-shipping  in  the  Mediterranean;  but  in 
1815  we  found  ourselves  in  a  position  to  end  the 
whole  system  of  peace  tribute,  as  that  with  Tunis 
and  Tripoli  had  been  broken  up  ten  years  before. 
Two  squadrons  were  fitted  out,  one  of  ten  ships  at 
New  York  under  Decatur,  who  sailed  five  days 
after  the  Constitution  arrived  home,  and  the  other 
under  Bainbridge  from  Boston  six  weeks  later. 
Our  old  frigate  was  in  need  of  extensive  repairs, 
and  she  could  not  therefore  be  prepared  for  sea  in 
time  to  join  either  of  these  squadrons.  Her  period 
of  enforced  idleness  lasted  about  six  years,  and  in 
1821  we  find  her  at  Boston  ready  for  another  cruise. 
She  sailed  on  May  13,  under  command  of  Captain 
Jacob  Jones  for  service  as  flagship  of  the  Mediter 
ranean  squadron,  and  made  the  voyage  to  Gibraltar 
in  the  short  time  of  twenty-one  days.  The  cruise 


AFTER  THE  WAR  OF  1812  217 

was  uneventful,  and  she  did  not  even  revisit  the 
scene  of  her  old  triumph,  but  made  only  a  few  ports 
between  Gibraltar  and  Smyrna.  Port  Mahone 
was  the  rendezvous  where  she  spent  much  time.  It 
was  during  this  cruise,  in  1822,  that  Lord  Byron 
paid  her  a  visit.  He  is  said  to  have  remarked  while 
on  board  that  he  "  would  rather  have  a  nod  from 
an  American  than  a  snuff-box  from  an  emperor." 

In  the  fall  of  1823,  the  Constitution  was  back  in 
Boston  for  a  new  crew,  but  did  not  refit  until  three 
years  later,  when,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Thomas  Macdonough,  she  once  more  sailed  for  the 
Mediterranean  station  to  join  the  squadron  of  Com 
modore  John  Rodgers.  This  cruise  lasted  nearly 
four  years  under  several  commanders.  Captain 
Macdonough  kept  her  only  a  year,  and  then  turned 
her  over  to  Captain  Daniel  T.  Patterson,  whose 
command  lasted  until  she  returned  to  the  United 
States.  He  was  relieved,  however,  for  a  short 
interval  during  the  winter  of  1825-26  by  Elia  A. 
F.  Vallette  and  George  C.  Eead.  During  this 
cruise,  her  duty  seems  to  have  been  entirely  that  of 
a  sentry  standing  guard  over  American  shipping 
and  affording  visible  evidence  of  the  power  behind 
the  flag.  One  incident  is  interesting  in  connection 
with  the  Greek  Revolution.  Provisions  had  been 
sent  to  Dr.  Howe  for  distribution  to  the  starving 
population.  Part  of  the  cargo  was  stolen  by  Greek 


218  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

brigands,  and  the  Constitution  was  summoned  to 
aid  in  its  recovery.  Captain  Patterson  responded 
promptly,  and  succeeded  in  forcing  the  captain  of 
the  gang  to  restore  everything.  The  ship  left  the 
station  in  the  summer  of  1828,  and  went  out  of 
commission  at  the  Boston  Navy  Yard  on  July  19. 

The  period  extending  from  the  close  of  the  War 
of  1812  to  the  Mexican  War  was  one  of  compara 
tive  monotony  for  the  Navy,  although  its  duties  in 
keeping  down  the  pirates  and  giving  security  to 
foreign  trade  were  very  necessary.  Many  of  the 
old  ships  were  broken  up  as  new  ones  were  added, 
and  by  the  middle  of  the  century  only  three  of  the 
old  vessels  remained  in  the  service.  Curiously 
enough,  they  were  the  United  States,  the  Constitu 
tion,  and  the  Constellation,  the  first  three  ships  of 
the  Navy  to  be  launched.  Several  line-of-battle- 
ships  and  a  few  steamers  had  been  built. 

Between  the  years  1828  and  1830,  "  Old  Iron 
sides"  was  surveyed  and  reported  unseaworthy. 
Her  frames  were  generally  sound,  but  the  outside 
planking,  the  ceiling  in  the  hold,  and  the  decks 
were  badly  decayed.  The  estimated  cost  of  repairs 
exceeded  the  total  original  cost  of  building,  and 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  decided,  upon  the  recom 
mendation  of  the  Naval  Commissioners,  to  have 
her  broken  up  or  sold.  This  might  have  passed 
without  serious  opposition  had  not  her  proverbial 


AFTER  THE  WAR  OF  1812  219 

good  luck  once  more  intervened  to  save  her.  Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes,  who  was  a  student  at  the  Dane 
Law  School  and  only  just  past  his  majority,  saw  in 
a  newspaper  one  morning  that  the  Constitution  was 
to  be  destroyed  by  order  of  the  Navy  Department. 
He  seized  a  pen  and  dashed  off  on  a  scrap  of  paper 
these  stanzas :  — 

"  Ay,  tear  her  tattered  ensign  down ! 

Long  has  it  waved  on  high, 
And  many  an  eye  has  danced  to  see 

That  hanner  in  the  sky  ; 
Beneath  it  rung  the  battle  shout, 

And  hurst  the  cannon's  roar  ;  — 
The  meteor  of  the  ocean  air 

Shall  sweep  the  clouds  no  more. 

"  Her  deck,  once  red  with  heroes'  blood, 

Where  knelt  the  vanquished  foe, 
When  winds  were  hurrying  o'er  the  flood, 

And  waves  were  white  below, 
No  more  shall  feel  the  victor's  tread, 

Or  know  the  conquered  knee  ;  — 
The  harpies  of  the  shore  shall  pluck 

The  eagle  of  the  sea ! 

u  Oh  better  that  her  shattered  hulk 

Should  sink  beneath  the  wave ; 
Her  thunders  shook  the  mighty  deep, 

And  there  should  be  her  grave  ; 
Nail  to  the  mast  her  holy  flag, 

Set  every  threadbare  sail, 
And  give  her  to  the  god  of  storms, 

The  lightning  and  the  gale  !  " 


220  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

This  poem,  with  the  title  "  Old  Ironsides,"  was 
first  published  in  the  "Boston  Advertiser,"  and  was 
quickly  copied  in  all  the  newspapers  of  the  country. 
It  was  even  printed  on  handbills  and  circulated  on 
the  streets  of  Washington.  The  public  sentiment 
aroused  was  irresistible.  The  Navy  Department's 
order  was  immediately  revoked.  Congress  appro 
priated  the  necessary  money  to  rebuild  her,  practi 
cally  without  alteration  of  the  original  model.  On 
June  24, 1833,  she  was  placed  in  the  new  dry  dock 
just  completed  at  the  Boston  Navy  Yard,  and  was 
the  first  vessel  to  enter  the  dock.  Captain  Hull 
once  more  took  command  of  her  and  directed  the 
docking  in  the  presence  of  Vice  President  Van 
Buren  and  a  large  number  of  people.  This  was 
the  first  time  in  her  career  that  a  careful  exam 
ination  could  be  made  of  the  keel.  It  was  found 
hogged  and  about  two  and  a  half  feet  out  of  line, 
the  result  in  part  of  sticking  fast  on  the  ways 
when  launching,  and  doubtless  also  of  carrying 
too  heavy  a  battery.  The  keel  was  straightened, 
and  she  was  thus  restored  to  the  lines  of  Mr.  Hum- 
phreys's  model,  having  been  so  completely  rebuilt 
under  the  superintendence  of  Josiah  Barker  that 
she  became  virtually  a  new  ship. 

No  sooner  had  the  restoration  been  completed 
than  she  was  plunged  once  more  into  a  discussion 
more  bitter  by  far  than  the  first.  There  had  been 


AFTER  THE   WAR  OF   1812  221 

no  difference  of  opinion  about  breaking  her  up, 
but  there  was  a  pronounced  difference  of  opinion  on. 
the  propriety  of  Andrew  Jackson  as  a  figurehead. 
Captain  Jesse  D.  Elliott  had  been  ordered  to  com 
mand  the  Boston  Navy  Yard  in  the  spring  of 
1833,  and  he  arrived  in  time  to  witness  the  recep 
tion  of  Andrew  Jackson.  Seeing  the  enthusiasm 
for  the  President  and  the  cordiality  with  which  he 
was  met  by  the  Boston  people,  he  conceived  the 
notion  of  gratifying  them  by  replacing  the  figure 
head  of  their  favorite  ship  with  the  head  of  Jack 
son.  The  first  figurehead,  a  statue  of  Hercules, 
had  been  struck  by  a  shot  before  Tripoli.  It  was 
succeeded  by  a  figure  of  Neptune,  and  then  by  a 
plain  billet,  which  Captain  Elliott  proposed  to 
remove.  He  evidently  intended  to  spring  this 
agreeable  surprise  on  the  good  people  of  the  city, 
and  he  quietly  requested  official  approval  of  the 
project.  The  Navy  Department  readily  granted 
the  necessary  permission,  and  the  work  was  com 
mitted  to  Mr.  L.  S.  Beecher,  a  skillful  carver  of 
wood. 

The  news  soon  spread,  and  the  previous  storm 
was  as  nothing  compared  with  the  gale  that  now 
swept  over  the  good  city  of  Boston.  Captain 
Elliott  must  have  suffered  a  rude  awakening  when 
he  found  himself  threatened  with  a  coat  of  tar  and 
feathers.  The  abuse  he  endured  was  something 


222  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

almost  beyond  imagination.  Threats  and  vituper 
ation  circulated  freely  in  newspapers.  Handbills 
and  anonymous  letters  were  sent  directly  to  the 
chief  offender.  The  matter  became  a  political 
question,  and  the  Whigs  were  most  offensive  in 
their  opposition.  A  more  disgraceful  exhibition 
of  spleen  has  seldom  occurred  in  our  history.  The 
expediency  of  putting  the  figure  of  a  living  Presi 
dent  upon  one  of  our  ships  seems  doubtful,  and  the 
people  of  Boston  had  a  certain  element  of  right  in 
their  objection.  Then,  too,  Jackson  had  made  his 
name  as  a  soldier,  and  there  did  not  seem  to  be 
any  good  reason  why  he  should  adorn  a  ship.  He 
did  not  fit  the  case.  If  any  living  man  was  to  be 
selected,  a  naval  hero  would  have  been  far  more 
appropriate,  and  the  question  was  asked  by  many 
people  outside  of  New  England,  "  Why  associate 
Jackson  so  intimately  with  a  ship  which  holds  the 
memories  of  our  old  sailors  ?  "  He  was  represented 
in  dress  suit,  bareheaded,  with  a  large  cloak  over 
his  shoulders.  His  right  hand  was  extended  hold 
ing  a  roll  of  manuscript,  and  his  left  hand  was 
pushed  into  the  breast  of  his  waistcoat.  There 
was  a  precedent  in  the  case  of  the  frigate  John 
Adams,  which  not  only  carried  a  statue  of  Mr. 
Adams,  but  was  also  named  for  him  while  he  was 
the  chief  magistrate.  Nevertheless,  the  precedent 
was  bad,  and  Captain  Elliott,  who  was  a  Jacksonian 


AFTER  THE   WAR  OF   1812  223 

Democrat,  was  probably  more  or  less  influenced  by 
party  considerations.  His  biographer  writes  that 
he  wished  to  please  the  people  of  the  West  and 
to  increase  their  interest  in  the  Navy  by  placing 
their  hero  upon  the  favorite  ship  of  the  East.  His 
success  was  questionable,  as  he  was  literally  per 
secuted  out  of  the  Navy  Yard.  A  more  courteous 
and  reasonable  opposition  would  doubtless  have  led 
to  the  abandonment  of  the  project,  as  the  Naval 
Commissioners  had  already  given  him  some  lati 
tude  in  the  matter,  but  he  would  not  yield  in  the 
face  of  threats  and  abuse.  Mr.  Beecher  was  ap 
proached  by  representative  citizens  who  offered  a 
considerable  sum  for  permission  to  carry  the  half 
completed  image  away,  but  Captain  Elliott  at  once 
removed  it  under  guard  to  the  Navy  Yard.  There 
were  rumors  of  an  attempt  to  take  it  away  by 
force,  and  arms  were  dealt  out  to  the  sailors  for 
the  purpose  of  repelling  an  invasion.  It  was  fin 
ished  in  the  Yard  and  placed  on  board  the  ship  in 
the  late  spring  of  1834.  She  was  moored  between 
two  line-of-battle-ships  for  safety,  and  a  marine 
guard  was  stationed  in  plain  view  of  the  bow ;  but 
in  spite  of  all  precautions  the  daylight  of  July  3 
disclosed  a  sadly  mutilated  figurehead.  Captain 
Elliott  immediately  reported  the  fact  to  the  Sec 
retary  of  the  Navy  and  instituted  an  investiga 
tion,  but  nothing  came  of  it.  While  scores  of  men 


224  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

belonging  to  the  opposition  party  in  Boston,  New 
York,  and  Philadelphia  knew  all  about  the  busi 
ness,  and  while  the  perpetrator  was  exhibiting  the 
head  before  various  private  audiences,  the  govern 
ment  was  powerless.  No  one  came  forward  with 
accusation  or  evidence.  Six  months  or  more 
elapsed  before  Samuel  W.  Dewey  voluntarily  sur 
rendered  the  head  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
His  subsequent  immunity  from  punishment  was 
probably  due  to  influential  political  connections 
and  to  a  secret  satisfaction,  even  in  Washington, 
over  the  insult  to  Jackson.  His  father  had  been 
at  one  time  in  command  of  Fort  Independence, 
and  his  uncle  was  postmaster  of  New  York. 

The  inception  of  the  outrage,  for  such  it  was, 
dates  from  a  bantering  conversation  which  took 
place  in  the  counting-house  of  Henry  and  William 
Lincoln.  Mr.  Dewey,  who  possessed  an  adventu 
rous,  dare-devil  spirit,  was  captain  of  one  of  their 
ships,  and  had  recently  returned  from  the  West 
Indies.  When  waiting  for  a  ship  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  going  into  his  employer's  office  every  day, 
and  one  morning  Mr.  William  Lincoln,  knowing 
him  to  be  a  harum-scarum  fellow,  said  to  him 
jokingly,  without  much  thought  that  the  matter 
would  ever  go  any  further,  "  I  would  give  a  hun 
dred  dollars  to  see  that  figurehead  cut  off."  Some 
weeks  passed  and  the  subject  was  not  again  alluded 


AFTER  THE  WAR  OF  1812  225 

to,  when  suddenly  the  whole  town  was  electrified 
one  morning  by  the  news  that  the  figurehead  was 
gone.  Mr.  Lincoln  heard  of  it  on  his  way  to  the 
office,  and  he  found  Dewey  waiting  at  the  door. 
The  head  was  in  his  mother's  house  on  Pearl 
street,  hidden  within  a  large  sea-chest. 

Dewey  had  watched  his  opportunity,  and  had 
taken  advantage  of  a  thunder-storm  on  the  night 
of  July  2.  Provided  with  a  saw,  two  gimlets  and 
a  piece  of  light  rope,  he  crossed  the  Charles  River 
in  a  small  boat  and  pulled  in  alongside  of  the  In 
dependence.  He  worked  his  way  around  this  ship, 
clinging  to  her  sides  until  he  reached  the  gang 
way  of  the  Constitution,  where  he  climbed  up  one 
of  the  man-ropes.  It  was  raining  hard,  and  the 
night  was  pitch  dark,  so  that  he  crept  out  under 
the  bowsprit  and  went  to  work  without  much  risk 
of  discovery.  One  gimlet  was  screwed  into  each 
side  of  the  head,  and  the  line,  passed  over  the  bow 
sprit,  was  made  fast  to  both  of  them.  Lying  on 
his  back  directly  under  the  figure,  he  was  able  to  use 
his  saw  whenever  the  noise  of  the  thunder  and  rain 
filled  the  ears  of  the  sentry  near  by.  The  first  cut 
struck  a  bolt,  and  he  had  to  begin  a  new  cut 
through  the  chin  of  the  figure ;  but  he  finally  suc 
ceeded  in  the  decapitation  and  in  getting  the  head 
down  into  the  boat.  Here  a  new  difficulty  con 
fronted  him,  as  the  boat  was  nearly  full  of  water 


226  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

from  one  of  the  scuppers  of  the  ship.  The  pas 
sage  back  to  Boston  was  almost  as  dangerous  as 
the  adventure  on  the  Constitution,  but  he  suc 
ceeded  in  crossing.  He  carried  his  trophy,  hidden 
in  a  coffee-sack,  through  the  streets  of  the  city 
without  meeting  a  soul. 

This  whole  affair  seems  to  have  been  treated  as 
a  huge  joke,  and  Dewey  became  a  hero  among  the 
knowing  ones.  A  club  was  formed  and  various 
gentlemen  assembled  at  a  dinner  at  which  the  head 
formed  the  centrepiece.  When  the  members  met 
in  the  street  they  were  in  the  habit  of  drawing 
their  hands  across  their  chins  by  way  of  indicat 
ing  their  enjoyment  of  Dewey's  cut.  The  head 
was  subsequently  carried  in  triumph  to  Washing 
ton,  by  way  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  and 
the  adventurous  captain  became  the  source  of  much 
entertainment.  His  impudence  seemed  to  have 
had  no  limit,  for  he  contemplated  carrying  the 
President  his  own  head,  and  was  restrained  only 
by  Mr.  Jackson's  illness. 

Captain  Elliott  did  not  acknowledge  defeat  in 
the  loss  of  his  figurehead,  but  quietly  provided  a 
canvas  cover  for  the  stump  and  bided  his  time. 
The  Constitution  was  fitted  for  sea  during  the 
winter,  and  she  sailed  for  New  York  early  in  March 
of  1835,  with  Elliott  in  command.  She  did  not 
get  out  without  threats  of  a  combination  to  man 


AFTER  THE  WAR   OF  1812  227 

the  guns  at  the  Narrows  and  stop  her  if  the  remains 
of  the  figurehead  were  not  removed,  but  her  com 
mander,  by  way  of  retaliation,  simply  had  a  five- 
striped  flag  painted  on  the  canvas  as  a  suggestion 
of  New  England's  disloyalty.  While  in  New  York 
the  figurehead  was  successfully  repaired  by  Mr. 
Beecher.  It  remained  on  her  for  more  than  forty 
years,  and  is  now  at  the  Naval  Academy.  The  in 
cident  of  the  figurehead  was  not  taken  very  seri 
ously  at  the  time,  and  we  are  hardly  justified  in 
drawing  a  moral  from  it.  Notwithstanding  the 
insult  to  Jackson,  the  leaven  of  federalism  was 
slowly  converting  the  old  colonies  into  one  nation, 
which  would  probably  resent  any  such  disrespect 
to  the  President  in  our  day. 

As  a  result  of  experience  during  the  short 
voyage  from  Boston,  Commodore  Elliott  reported 
that  the  repairs  and  straightening  of  the  keel  had 
improved  the  ship.  He  wrote,  "  There  is  not  a 
more  weatherly,  finer  and  faster  ship  in  the  ser 
vice."  Nevertheless,  she  labored  so  heavily  during 
the  voyage  to  France  as  to  part  some  of  her  chain 
plates  and  to  pitch  one  of  the  24-pounders  out 
through  a  forecastle  port.  The  captain's  corre 
spondence  contains  comments  on  the  weakness  of 
the  channels  and  the  general  lack  of  stability.  He 
says  in  one  place  that  there  is  danger  of  losing  the 
masts  overboard.  She  sailed  from  New  York  for 


228  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

France  on  March  16  with  orders  to  bring  home 
Mr.  Livingston  and  his  family,  and  arrived  at 
Havre  on  April  10.  Affairs  in  France  were  in  an 
unsettled  state,  owing  to  the  indemnity  question. 
The  French  chamber  had  appropriated  money  to 
pay  the  indemnity,  on  condition  that  the  United 
States  must  first  explain  certain  offensive  clauses 
in  the  message  to  Congress.  It  was  thought  best 
to  recall  the  minister,  and  soon  after  the  Constitu 
tion  arrived  he  went  on  board.  She  crossed  to 
Plymouth,  England,  early  in  May  and  arrived  in 
New  York  on  June  22. 

Captain  Elliott  was  then  ordered  to  hoist  his 
flag  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  Mediterranean 
squadron,  and  he  got  away  on  August  19,  1835. 
The  cruise  lasted  three  years  and  was  uneventful. 
General  Cass  and  his  family  were  carried  from 
Marseilles  to  Constantinople,  and  a  visit  to  Malta 
in  the  spring  of  1836  was  made  the  occasion  of 
many  expressions  of  good  will  on  the  part  of  the 
English  officers.  Washington's  birthday  was  cele 
brated  very  handsomely  by  dressing  ship  and  firing 
a  national  salute  from  every  one  of  the  fourteen 
British  vessels  in  the  harbor.  The  Constitution 
returned  the  salute.  On  shore  the  officers  were 
received  most  cordially,  and  the  old  feeling  of  ani 
mosity  seems  to  have  died  out  entirely.  Cer 
tainly  nothing  was  left  undone  to  make  the  Amer 
icans  feel  at  home. 


AFTER  THE   WAR  OF  1812  229 

Old  Ironsides  returned  during  the  summer  of 
1838,  arriving  in  Hampton  Koads  on  August  1, 
and  she  went  up  to  Norfolk  the  next  day.  The 
anchor  was  no  sooner  down  than  the  men  began 
clamoring  for  their  discharges,  as  all  of  them  were 
overtime.  Two  hundred  demanded  their  release 
from  service  at  once,  and  they  were  promptly  put 
on  shore.  The  cruise  proved  an  unfortunate  one 
for  Captain  Elliott,  as  he  was  arraigned  on  various 
charges  of  severity  and  harshness  in  discipline,  and 
on  one  charge  of  encumbering  the  berth-deck  of 
the  Constitution  with  jackasses  for  the  improve 
ment  of  the  breed  in  the  United  States.  He  was 
found  guilty,  and  was  suspended  for  four  years. 
This  may  throw  some  light  on  his  difficulties  at 
the  Boston  Navy  Yard,  where  no  doubt  an  unfortu 
nate  lack  of  tact  contributed  largely  to  the  contro 
versy  over  the  figurehead. 

The  ship  was  recommissioned  at  the  Norfolk 
Navy  Yard  on  March  1,  1839,  under  the  command 
of  Captain  Daniel  Turner.  Six  weeks  later  she 
went  to  New  York,  and  sailed  on  May  20  for  the 
South  Pacific  station  as  Commodore  Alexander 
Claxton's  flagship.  Her  cruising-ground  for  two 
years  extended  along  the  west  coast  of  South 
America.  Commodore  Claxton  died  on  board  on 
March  7,  1841,  and  Captain  Turner  succeeded  to 
the  chief  command  until  his  ship  returned  to 


230  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

Norfolk  in  tke  fall  of  the  same  year.  During  this 
commission  the  report  on  her  qualities  gives  us  a 
vivid  picture  of  the  wooden  frigate  at  sea.  "  On 
her  passage  around  Cape  Horn  she  labored  beyond 
everything  I  had  ever  witnessed,  and  gave  me  a 
lively  idea  of  what  sailors  understand  by  '  working 
like  a  basket.' " 

The  next  cruise  was  a  very  short  one  under  Cap 
tain  Foxhall  A.  Parker,  who  commanded  her  from 
June  22,  1842,  to  February  16,  1843.  For  three 
months  she  was  flagship  of  Commodore  Charles 
Stewart,  her  old  commander,  on  the  home  squad 
ron,  and  then  she  was  laid  up  in  Norfolk  once 
more.  On  March  26,  1844,  she  went  into  com 
mission  for  a  special  cruise  to  the  China  seas  under 
Captain  John  Percival,  and  sailed  from  Hampton 
Eoads  for  New  York  on  April  17.  At  the  latter 
place  she  took  on  board  Mr.  Wise  for  transporta 
tion  to  Rio  Janeiro,  as  minister  to  Brazil,  and  de 
parted  on  her  long  cruise  towards  the  end  of  May. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  follow  her  from  port  to 
port  on  this  voyage  completely  around  the  globe, 
but  there  is  no  special  event  to  distinguish  one 
place  from  another,  and  the  story  would  be  largely 
a  journal  of  daily  happenings.  Captain  Percival, 
her  commander,  called  "  Mad  Jack  "  in  the  Navy, 
had  led  an  eventful  life  at  sea.  As  a  boy  of 
seventeen  before  the  mast  he  had  been  impressed 


AFTER  THE  WAR  OF   1812  231 

by  the  English  from  an  American  merchant-ship. 
His  intelligence  and  energy  had  earned  for  him 
promotion  in  his  enforced  service,  and  tradition 
says  that  he  was  captain  of  the  foretop  in  Nelson's 
flagship  at  Trafalgar.  The  Constitution  sailed  from 
Eio  Janeiro  early  in  September,  passed  around  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  made  Singapore  in  Feb 
ruary,  1845.  There  was  much  sickness  on  board, 
and  she  remained  in  port  between  five  and  six 
weeks.  The  British  fleet,  under  command  of  Com 
modore  Chads,  proffered  medical  services  and 
manifested  the  most  friendly  feeling  towards  the 
Americans.  As  related  in  connection  with  the 
Java,  the  commodore  went  on  board  to  offer  aid 
and  to  see  the  old  ship  where  he  had  been  a  pris 
oner  thirty-two  years  before.  During  the  spring 
and  summer  of  1845,  the  ship  proceeded  leisurely 
to  Canton  River,  then  to  Manila  Bay,  and  late  in 
September  to  Honolulu.  Early  in  December  she 
sailed  for  home  by  way  of  the  Mexican  coast  and 
Cape  Horn.  The  voyages  from  port  to  port  were 
very  long ;  from  Manila  to  Honolulu,  fifty-seven 
days  ;  Mazatlan  to  Rio  Janeiro,  ninety-seven  days ; 
and  from  Rio  Janeiro  to  Boston,  sixty-one  days. 
She  went  out  of  commission  at  the  Boston  Navy 
Yard  on  October  5,  1^48,  after  having  sailed  dur 
ing  the  cruise  52,279  miles  in  495  days  at  sea. 
Captain  Percival  reported  her  as  a  fine  ship,  but 


232  THE  FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

hard  on  her  cables,  and  recommended  that  her 
fore  and  mainmasts  be  placed  three  fourths  of 
their  diameter  further  aft,  also  that  all  ballast  be 
dispensed  with. 

The  stories  of  two  incidents  of  this  cruise  have 
come  down  to  us  as  pleasant  reminders  of  the  spirit 
and  generosity  of  Jack  Tar  in  the  old  Navy.  On 
August  13,  1845,  at  Canton,  Captain  Percival  sum 
moned  his  men  to  the  quarter-deck  and  told  them 
the  particulars  of  the  suffering  and  loss  caused 
by  the  great  fire  in  Pittsburg.  Every  officer  and 
man  in  the  crew  subscribed  something  towards  the 
relief  of  the  sufferers,  and  the  sum  of  $1950  was 
sent  home  by  a  draft  on  Boston  as  a  token  of  sym 
pathy.  The  distance  and  time  were  much  greater 
then  than  now. 

During  the  voyage  from  Macao  to  Manila,  they 
sighted  a  squadron  of  six  ships,  and  as  it  was  cus 
tomary  to  regard  all  strangers  in  that  part  of  the 
world  with  suspicion,  they  immediately  cleared  for 
action.  Soon  the  wind  died  out  entirely,  and  one 
of  the  ships,  a  steamer  flying  the  British  flag,  was 
seen  to  approach.  A  boat  was  lowered,  and  some 
officers  came  on  board  with  the  information  that 
the  squadron  was  that  of  Sir  Thomas  Cochrane, 
and  that  they  had  been  down  to  the  islands  for 
seven  months.  They  were  short  of  grog,  water, 
and  bread,  and  they  wished  to  beg  a  week's  supply 


AFTER  THE   WAR  OF   1812  233 

from   the   Constitution.     The   crew   had    a  lively  « 

time  securing  the  guns  and  hiding  the  evidences  of 

their  extreme  readiness  to  fight.     While  the  pro 

visions  were  hoisted  out  the  British  officers  were 

taken  down  into  the  ward-room  and  feasted.     They 

departed  with  lightened  hearts,  drinking  the  toast, 

"  The  good  Old  Ironsides,  always  the  first  to  pre 

pare  for  her  friends  or  foes." 

After  two  years'  idleness,  she  was  again  com 
missioned  under  the   command  of  Captain  John 

/^        r  J 

Gwynn,  and  sailed  for  the  Mediterranean  squadron 


. 

in  December,  1848,  to  become  the  flagship  of  Com- 
modore  W.  C.  Bolton.%  Her  cruising  was  princi-  '" 
pally  on  the  coast  of  Italy.  During  the  early  part 
of  1849,  she  carried  Consul-General  D.  S.  Mc- 
Cauley  and  his  family  from  Tripoli  to  Alexan 
dria.  It  was  during  this  voyage  that  a  son  was 
born  on  board  to  Mrs.  McCauley.  He  received 
the  name  Constitution  Stewart  in  honor  of  the  old 
ship  and  her  former  commander. 

On  September  4  Captain  Gwynn  died,  and 
was  succeeded  in  command  shortly  afterwards  by 
Captain  Thomas  A.  Conover.  The  cruise  ended 
in  New  York,  where  the  ship  went  out  of  commis 
sion  on  January  11,  1851.  Two  reports  on  her 
behavior  at  sea  contain  the  words,  "Excellent, 
very  weatherly,  works  quick,  rolls  deep,  but  easy  ; 
stands  up  well  under  canvas,  but  not  very  dry  in 


234  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION. 

a  sea  way."  "  Works  within  11  points  of  the 
wind ;  steers,  works,  sails,  scuds  and  lies  to  well ; 
rolls  deep  and  easy,  and  sailing  close  hauled  has 
beaten  everything  sailed  with." 

A  new  commission  dates  from  December  22, 
1852,  with  Captain  John  Rudd  in  command.  She 
sailed  in  the  following  March  to  join  the  Mediter 
ranean  squadron  for  the  last  time,  as  flagship  of 
Commodore  Isaac  Mayo.  Her  cruising  days  were 
numbered,  as  already  the  steam  propeller  was 
beginning  to  make  itself  felt  in  the  Navy.  She 
carried  over  Mr.  Nicholson  as  consul  to  Tunis,  and 
then  proceeded  to  the  west  coast  of  Africa  to  aid 
in  breaking  up  the  slave  trade.  She  was  in  and 
out  of  port  incessantly  between  the  Cape  Verd 
Islands  and  St.  Helena  for  two  years,  but  captured 
only  one  vessel,  the  American  schooner  H.  N. 
Gambrill.  On  June  14,  1855,  she  went  out  of 
commission  at  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  never  to  be  used 
again  in  really  active  service. 

In  1860,  the  Navy  Department  decided  to  trans 
fer  her  to  the  Naval  Academy  for  the  use  of  the 
midshipmen,  and  she  was  therefore  commissioned 
on  the  1st  of  August  under  Lieutenant-Commander 
David  D.  Porter.  He  kept  her  only  one  month, 
and  then  left  her  safely  moored  at  Annapolis.  The 
outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  seemed  to  render  her 
position  very  unsafe.  The  frigate  United  States 


AFTER  THE  WAR  OF  1812  235 

had  been  seized  at  Norfolk,  and  there  were  threats 
of  a  combination  at  Annapolis  to  destroy  the  Con 
stitution  and  other  government  property.  So  pro 
nounced  was  the  evidence  of  hostility  on  shore  that 
the  superintendent  of  the  Naval  Academy  ordered 
Lieutenant  -  Commander  George  W.  Eodgers  to 
move  her  out  into  the  Eoads  on  the  morning  of 
April  21,  1861.  The  steamer  Maryland  arrived 
opportunely  from  Havre  de  Grace  with  a  regiment  ^ 
of  Massachusetts  volunteers  under  command  of 
Brigadier-General  Benjamin  F.  Butler.  Three 


C^        -  "i 

companies  were  immediately  placed  on  board  to 

assist   in   getting   her   out.      All    moorings   were  ^/t  f  ^ 


slipped  excepting  the  starboard  bower  anchor,  and  ^ 

she  was  taken  in  tow  by  the  Maryland.  Unfortu- 
nately  she  went  aground  on  Greenbury's  Point,  and 
the  Maryland  in  backing  went  hard  aground  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  channel.  The  tide  was  run 
ning  out  rapidly,  and  about  midnight  word  came 
that  the  channel  outside  would  probably  be  ob 
structed  during  the  night.  This  led  to  a  deter 
mined  effort  to  pull  the  Constitution  off  by  means 
of  kedging.  With  the  first  run  of  the  kedge  she 
reached  deep  water  and,  while  bearing  on  the  second 
kedge,  a  heavy  squall  drove  her  into  the  mud  again. 
The  appearance  of  several  vessels  in  the  offing 
hurried  the  crew  to  their  quarters  with  preparations 
to  repel  an  attack,  but  the  strangers  turned  out  to 


236  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

be  the  steamer  Boston  with  New  York  troops,  and 
a  tug  from  Havre  de  Grace.  The  Constitution 
was  soon  towed  out  into  deep  water.  On  the  26th, 
she  left  her  anchorage  in  tow  of  the  R.  R.  Cuyler, 
with  the  steamer  Harriet  Lane  in  company,  and 
three  days  later  was  safe  at  the  New  York  Navy 
Yard.  The  Naval  Academy  was  moved  to  New 
port  soon  after,  and  she  was  taken  there  for  ser 
vice  as  a  training  and  practice  ship. 

In  August,  1865,  she  was  towed  out  of  New 
port  for  Annapolis,  under  command  of  Lieutenant- 
Commander  P.  C.  Johnson,  but  she  soon  ran  away 
from  her  tug  and  made  the  voyage  under  sail  alone. 
She  exhibited  a  liveliness  equal  to  anything  in  her 
palmiest  days,  and  left  a  record  for  a  few  hours  of 
thirteen  and  a  half  knots. 

From  this  time  until  1871,  her  commanding 
officers  were  placed  on  board  mainly  as  care-takers. 
Lieutenant-Commander  (now  Admiral)  George 
Dewey  had  her  from  November  5,  1867,  to  August 
1,  1870. 

Her  period  of  usefulness  had  practically  passed 
away  at  the  time  of  her  last  cruise,  and  the  pro 
gress  in  the  art  of  ship-building  during  the  Civil 
War  converted  her  into  an  antiquity  ;  endeared  to 
the  American  people,  to  be  sure,  but  still  a  relic 
of  the  past.  In  1871  she  was  taken  to  the  Phila 
delphia  Navy  Yard  too  far  gone  to  be  trusted 


AFTER  THE  WAR  OF  1812  237 

under  sail  at  sea.  Another  crisis  like  that  of  1828 
had  overtaken  her.  She  lay  in  ordinary  for  a 
short  time,  until  it  was  finally  decided  to  rebuild 
her  by  replacing  all  decayed  timbers  and  planking. 
At  one  time  there  was  a  suggestion  of  putting  ma 
chinery  into  her,  but  fortunately  the  plan  was  given 
up.  Of  no  service  as  a  steamer,  she  would  have 
been  ruined  as  a  memorial  of  the  old  sailing  navy. 
While  the  work  of  rebuilding  was  in  progress, 
the  Navy  Yard  was  moved  from  Philadelphia  to 
League  Island,  and  the  contract  to  complete  her 
was  given  to  Wood,  Dialogue  and  Company.  The 
effort  to  have  her  fitted  up  as  an  interesting  fea 
ture  of  the  Centennial  Exhibition  failed,  and  she 
was  not  ready  until  early  in  1877.  Steam-heating 
apparatus  was  placed  on  board,  and  care  was 
taken  to  give  her  modern  appliances,  so  far  as  pos 
sible. 

She  was  placed  in  commission  at  League  Island 
in  July,  1877.  The  command  fell  to  four  captains 
in  rapid  succession  before  she  left  the  Navy  Yard, 
and  she  was  not  employed  until  an  act  of  Congress 
authorized  the  President  to  supply  public  trans 
portation  for  goods  sent  by  our  citizens  to  the 
Universal  Exposition  at  Paris  in  1878.  Captain 
O.  C.  Badger  took  command  of  her  in  January  of 
that  year,  and  a  number  of  changes  were  made  at 
once  to  stow  as  much  freight  as  possible  in  the 


238  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

hold.  She  took  the  cargo  on  board  at  the  foot  of 
Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  and  sailed  from 
Delaware  Breakwater  on  March  4. 

The  passage  across  proved  to  be  an  anxious  one, 
as  the  repairs  did  not  turn  out  well,  and  the  work 
ing  of  her  timbers  under  sail  developed  a  number 
of  leaks.  She  reached  Havre  early  in  April  and 
lay  there  nine  months  waiting  to  carry  back  hex- 
cargo.  Two  incidents  occurred  on  the  return  voy 
age  to  render  it  memorable  as  an  unhappy  one.  She 
sailed  from  Havre  by  daylight  on  January  16, 
and  ran  aground  off  Ballard's  Point  near  Swanage 
in  the  middle  of  the  following  night.  It  is  reported 
that  an  unknown  current  set  her  on  the  English 
coast,  which  was  supposed  to  be  twenty-seven  miles 
away  when  she  struck.  Every  effort  was  made  to 
get  her  off,  and  the  united  pull  of  five  tugs  finally 
succeeded  in  moving  her  into  deep  water.  The 
officers  of  the  British  navy  were  most  friendly  in 
the  emergency,  even  sending  a  battle-ship  to  assist. 
She  was  docked  at  the  Navy  Yard,  Portsmouth, 
and  soon  repaired,  as  the  damage  proved  to  be 
slight.  Captain  Badger  got  to  sea  once  more  on 
January  30,  but  fourteen  days  later  the  rudder 
head  was  twisted  off  in  a  gale  of  wind.  There  was 
nothing  to  do  but  run  before  it,  and  she  was  headed 
for  Lisbon,  which  she  reached  in  five  days.  Again 
she  had  to  go  into  a  government  dock,  this  time 


AFTER   THE   WAR   OF  1812  239 

for  a  much  longer  period.  On  April  11,  she  sailed 
for  home,  and  arrived  in  New  York  on  May  24. 

The  Navy  Department  now  ordered  her  into 
service  as  a  training  ship  for  apprentice  boys. 
After  a  voyage  to  Philadelphia  and  return  the 
command  was  turned  over  to  Captain  F.  H.  Baker, 
who  kept  her  only  a  few  weeks.  Captain  O.  F. 
Stanton  took  command  in  October,  1879,  and  dur 
ing  the  next  two  years  cruised  from  the  West  Indies 
as  far  north  as  Halifax.  She  was  taken  south  dur 
ing  the  winter  and  north  during  the  summer  season 
for  the  purpose  of  working  the  ship  under  sail  as 
much  as  possible.  In  June,  1881,  Captain  Stanton 
surrendered  the  command  to  Commander  E.  U. 
Shepard,  and  six  months  later  the  ship  went  out  of 
commission  at  the  New  York  Navy  Yard.  This 
closed  her  long  career  at  sea.  She  lay  at  New 
York  for  two  years,  and  was  then  towed  to  Ports 
mouth,  N.  H.,  for  use  as  a  receiving  ship. 

When  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  her  launch 
approached,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  ordered  her 
back  to  her  birthplace,  and  she  arrived  at  the 
Boston  Navy  Yard  on  September  21,  1897,  in  tow 
of  the  tug  Leyden,  with  Commander  S.  W.  Very 
and  a  crew  of  forty-five  men  on  board.  The  North 
Atlantic  Fleet,  consisting  of  the  New  York,  Brook 
lyn,  Iowa,  Massachusetts,  and  Texas,  anchored  in 
the  harbor  to  assist  in  the  celebration.  There  were 


240  THE   FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

speeches  in  the  Old  South  Meeting-House  by  the 
Governor  of  Massachusetts,  the  Mayor  of  Boston, 
the  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  the 
junior  Senator  from  the  State,  on  October  21.  The 
sailors  and  marines  were  subsequently  reviewed  in 
the  Navy  Yard,  and  Old  Ironsides  formed  the 
central  figure  of  a  great  reception  in  her  honor. 

The  old  craft  now  lies  housed  over  and  tenant- 
less,  except  for  the  crowd  of  memories  which  people 
her  decks.  She  has  reached  another  stage  in  her 
existence  demanding  the  assistance  of  every  lover 
of  his  country  to  secure  for  her  a  long  lease  of  life. 
By  an  act  of  Congress  approved  February  14, 
1900,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  is  authorized  to 
restore  her  to  the  same  condition  as  regards  her 
hull  and  rigging  as  she  was  when  in  active  service ; 
provided  that  a  sufficient  sum  of  money  to  com 
plete  the  work  shall  be  raised  through  the  agency 
of  the  Massachusetts  State  Society  of  the  United 
States  Daughters  of  1812.  The  amount  required 
is  estimated  at  400,000  dollars,  and  the  patriotic 
women  having  the  business  in  charge  will  no  doubt 
realize  their  hopes  of  seeing  the  old  ship  completely 
restored  in  course  of  a  few  years. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

WHAT   WE   OWE   TO   THE   CONSTITUTION 

IT  remains  now  to  state  more  fully  what  our  old 
frigate  stands  for  in  the  long  list  of  events  which 
have  shaped  the  character  of  the  American  republic. 
So  far  as  mere  materials  can  be  the  legitimate  ob 
ject  of  man's  gratitude,  she  has  certainly  earned  a 
lasting  place  in  our  affections.  Her  hull  represents 
the  homely  toil  of  our  ancestors,  who  had  none  of 
the  aids  of  modern  science  in  laying  out  and  con 
structing  their  ships.  The  axe  alone  served,  as  it 
had  served  in  making  their  homes  in  the  wilder 
ness.  Yet  nothing  better  was  ever  constructed, 
when  we  take  into  consideration  the  conditions  of 
naval  warfare  at  the  time.  Only  one  other  ship 
holds  an  equal  place  in  our  interest  and  means  as 
much  in  the  consolidation  of  our  Union  —  the  old 
Monitor.  The  two  ships  have  certain  points  of 
resemblance  and  of  difference.  Both  were  depar 
tures  in  type  from  what  had  gone  before,  and  both 
wrought  changes  in  the  construction  of  war- vessels 
for  the  navies  of  Europe.  One  floats  to-day  as  the 


242  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

most  beautiful  survivor  of  the  old  sailing  period, 
and  the  other  lies  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  but  the 
crude  beginning  of  the  modern  battle-ship.  Both 
gained  their  victories  over  people  of  the  same  race 
and  blood  and  the  same  maritime  traditions.  The 
Constitution  went  out  from  Boston  in  the  face  of 
tremendous  odds,  and  the  Monitor  left  New  York 
as  a  forlorn  hope.  It  is  a  strange  coincidence  that 
both  should  have  sailed  just  before  a  change  of 
orders  could  reach  them.  The  most  important 
effect  of  victory  for  both  ships  was  a  moral  one  ;  in 
the  first  case,  putting  heart  into  the  whole  nation  by 
inspiring  them  with  the  sense  of  union,  and  in  the 
second,  infusing  courage  and  hope  into  the  North, 
which  was  fighting  for  the  Union.  Washington 
took  a  deep  interest  in  the  construction  of  the  Con 
stitution,  and  he  frequently  inspected  her  sister 
ship  at  Philadelphia.  Lincoln's  favor  secured  a 
trial  for  the  Monitor.  One  is  almost  tempted  to 
see  the  work  of  Providence  in  this  strange  parallel. 
The  Victory,  Nelson's  flagship  at  Trafalgar,  is  well 
preserved,  but  she  cannot  express  as  much  to  Eng 
land  as  the  Constitution  to  us.  The  latter  was  the 
single  champion  of  a  young  and  struggling  nation, 
and  the  former  the  leader  of  a  powerful  fleet  in  the 
crowning  exploit  of  an  old  nation's  long  predom 
inance  upon  the  sea. 

The  first  important  service  of  the  Constitution 


WHAT  WE  OWE  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION     243 

has  been  found  in  the  blockade  of  Tripoli.  As  the 
flagship  of  a  squadron  which  dealt  a  decisive  blow 
at  the  system  of  piracy  and  tribute  that  had  flour 
ished  for  centuries,  she  deserves  the  gratitude  of 
humanity.  We  have  learned  under  what  discour 
aging  circumstances  Edward  Preble  carried  her 
through  that  most  difficult  service.  But  we  can 
never  estimate  at  too  high  a  value  the  education 
received  upon  her  decks  by  the  sailors  who  after 
wards  did  most  to  promote  the  healthy  growth  of 
the  Navy,  and  whose  cool  judgment  and  courage 
brought  us  to  the  successful  ending  of  the  second 
war  with  Great  Britain. 

It  is  in,  this  war  that  we  have  found  the  Consti 
tution's  great  victories,  and  what  was  equally  im 
portant  to  us,  her  marvelous  escapes.  Three  times 
she  was  victorious  over  British  ships,  and  three 
times  she  escaped  capture  by  British  squadrons. 
Nothing  finer  is  to  be  found  in  our  Navy.  The 
War  of  1812  terminated  the  period  of  our  depend 
ence  upon  England.  For  a  generation  we  had 
been  simply  a  football  between  England  and 
France,  both  holding  us  in  scarcely  veiled  con 
tempt,  and  our  parties  at  home  were  lined  up  ac 
cording  to  their  sympathies  with  one  nation  or  the 
other.  There  was  an  English  party  and  a  French 
party.  We  had  gained  our  independence,  but  not 
our  faith  in  the  Republic  of  the  United  States. 


244  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

The  country  was  still  colonial,  with  the  self-interest 
of  localities  too  strongly  marked  for  the  develop 
ment  of  a  strong  national  sentiment.  Our  stand 
ing  abroad  was  low  during  this  formative  period, 
and  we  were  practically  petitioners  to  Europe. 

The  character  of  a  nation,  like  that  of  an  indi 
vidual,  grows  imperceptibly  for  long  stretches, 
modified  occasionally  by  some  event  that  seems  to 
work  sudden  and  great  changes.  Yet  it  is  seldom 
the  event  which  forms  character,  but  rather  its  reve 
lation  of  the  possibilities  within.  So  twenty-three 
years  had  passed  in  party  strife  which  was  gradu 
ally  moulding  the  constitution  into  an  instrument 
capable  of  governing  a  large  population.  Slowly, 
amid  numberless  humiliations  and  trials,  the  com 
mon  people  of  this  country  had  been  acquiring 
confidence  in  their  union  without  knowinsr  it. 

o 

They  were  confused  by  the  discussions  of  politicians 
and  the  clamoring  of  men  with  selfish  interests. 
Some  event,  or  blow,  was  needed  to  show  them  that 
they  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  against  the  outside. 
Such  an  event  was  supplied  by  the  Constitution 
when  she  anchored  in  Boston  harbor  with  news  of 
the  victory  over  the  Guerriere.  Reference  has 
already  been  made  to  the  joy  with  which  she  was 
hailed.  The  victory  served  the  double  purpose 
of  bringing  to  the  surface  the  real  feeling  of  the 
New  England  people  and  of  indicating  our  best 


WHAT  WE  OWE  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION     245 

weapon  in  a  war  with  Great  Britain.  There  was 
no  longer  any  talk  of  hauling  up  the  frigates  to 
keep  them  out  of  the  clutches  of  the  British.  Even 
the  Boston  "  Centinel,"  which  had  condemned  the 
war  unsparingly,  heartily  rejoiced  in  the  achieve- 
men'"  which  placed  our  gallant  officers  and  hardy 
tars  on  the  very  pinnacle  of  the  high  hill  of  honor, 
and  which  established  the  necessity  and  utility  of 
our  navy." 

"  This  usefulness  and  honor  must  thunder  in 
the  ears  of  navy  haters  in  high  places.  Give  us  a 
navy."  This  triumph  gave  a  tone  and  character  to 
more  than  the  war.  It  gave  a  tone  and  character  to 
the  nation  for  all  time.  The  "  Centinel "  said  truly 
that  a  navy  was  necessary,  for  it  was  the  Navy 
which  obtained  the  only  success  that  counted  in  the 
negotiations  for  the  treaty  of  peace.  The  Consti 
tution  formed  the  most  striking  figure  to  this  end. 
Of  all  the  ships  first  authorized  by  Congress,  she 
alone  was  in  active  commission  at  the  close  of  the 
war.  The  President  and  Chesapeake  had  been 
captured.  The  Congress  was  dismantled,  and  the 
United  States  and  Constellation  were  tightly  shut 
in  by  the  British  blockade.  The  war  was  attended 
by  failure  on  land.  There  was  not  a  single  cam 
paign  upon  which  we  can  look  back  with  satisfac 
tion,  excepting  that  of  Jackson,  and  that  came  too 
late.  The  whole  management  of  the  War  Depart- 


246  THE   FRIGATE   CONSTITUTION 

ment  was  but  too  bitter  a  confirmation  of  Wash 
ington's  disbelief  in  the  efficiency  of  militia.  Our 
only  cause  for  pride  was  in  the  success  of  a  small 
navy  which  had  come  off  well  in  a  number  of  hard- 
fought  battles  and  had  wrought  great  destruction 
to  British  commerce.  Although  the  treaty  of 
peace  left  us  very  much  where  we  were  before  the 
war,  it  gave  us  standing  before  the  world,  and  it 
secured  for  us  complete  freedom  on  the  high  seas. 
Impressment  ceased  from  that  time,  and  no  nation 
has  since  attempted  to  control  the  commerce  of  the 
world  by  force.  Such  a  consummation  means 
much  to  the  interests  of  peace  and  tranquillity 
among  nations.  In  1812  England  was  at  the  sum 
mit  of  her  sea  power.  It  was  riot  an  empty  boast 
when  her  poet  wrote :  - 

"  The  winds  and  seas  are  Britain's  wide  domain, 
And  not  a  sail  without  permission  spreads." 

A  thousand  sail  manned  by  150,000  officers  and 
men  stood  ready  to  make  this  good.  No  nation 
could,  by  the  nature  of  things,  maintain  such  pre 
ponderance,  and  we  may  well  ponder  over  the  fate 
of  the  world  with  one  nation  in  undisputed  control 
of  the  ocean  highways.  The  United  States  offered 
then,  and  still  offers,  a  sure  guarantee  against  that 
domination,  and  Old  Ironsides  stood  both  as  a 
warning  and  as  a  hope.  Her  first  victory  broke 


WHAT  WE  OWE  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION    247 

the  illusion  of  invincibility  which  had  begun  to 
surround  the  British  navy,  and  her  second  pulled 
the  scales  off  the  eyes  of  Europe.  The  English 
people  did  not  recover  their  cheerfulness  during 
the  three  years  of  the  war,  and  when  peace  was  de 
clared  they  were  still  longing  for  some  overwhelm 
ing  victory  to  wipe  out  their  sense  of  shame.  For 
nearly  two  centuries  they  had  been  all  powerful. 
No  European  navy  could  make  any  head  against 
them.  When  they  wanted  a  French  or  a  Spanish 
ship  they  simply  went  and  took  her,  without  much 
thought  of  discrepancy  in  crews  or  guns.  Lord 
Dundonald  tells  the  story  of  his  first  commanfl,  a 
small,  badly  constructed  brig,  armed  with  fourteen 
4-pounders.  Although  his  crew  numbered  only 
fifty-four  men,  he  boarded  and  captured  in  broad 
daylight  a  Spanish  frigate  carrying  three  hundred 
and  nineteen  men  and  thirty-two  fair-sized  guns. 

The  superiority  of  our  ships  did  not  assuage  the 
bitterness  of  defeat,  and  in  spite  of  labored  plans 
to  show  that  we  had  every  advantage  and  could  not 
help  winning,  the  lesson  was  valuable.  There 
have  never  been  any  doubts  of  the  courage  and 
skill  of  the  American  sailors  and  their  ability  to 
take  care  of  themselves  since  the  British  experi 
ments  of  1812.  We  fought  for  our  freedom  upon 
the  ocean  as  we  had  fought  for  our  independence 
upon  the  land  a  generation  before,  and  it  was  fit- 


248  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

ting  that  the  victory  which  gained  us  that  freedom 
should  be  upon  sea.  Another  fruit  of  the  war  was 
emancipation  from  European  dictation.  We  es 
tablished  our  right  to  remain  neutral  when  we  saw 
fit.  In  these  later  days  we  can  pardon  the  fierce 
exultation  of  our  ancestors  over  the  Constitution's 
victories,  even  though  we  cannot  feel  proud  of 
their  behavior.  The  newspapers  were  filled  with 
violent,  untruthful  articles  against  the  British,  and 
our  historians  were  scarcely  better.  Until  all  of 
the  actors  in  the  war  had  passed  away,  it  was  as 
difficult  to  obtain  a  fair  statement  on  either  side  of 
the  water,  as  it  is  to-day  to  obtain  both  sides  of  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion. 

Nevertheless,  to  profit  by  the  lessons  of  victory, 
we  must  not  lose  sight  of  its  true  fruit  in  vain 
glorious  boasting  over  physical  prowess.  Many 
elements  go  toward  success  in  war.  The  common 
est  of  these  is  courage.  There  is  hardly  a  people 
on  the  face  of  the  globe  that  will  not,  with  proper 
training  and  superior  equipment,  supply  good  sol 
diers  and  sailors.  Certainly,  in  the  War  of  1812 
there  was  no  reason  to  expect  any  difference  in  the 
valor  of  the  two  contestants,  and  there  was  none. 
The  English  fought  as  bravely  and  as  fairly  as  the 
Americans.  The  blood  shed  upon  the  decks  of 
their  captured  frigates  is  proof  of  a  dogged  re 
sistance  which  we  must  admire.  As  gallant  old 


i 


WHAT  WE  OWE  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION     249 

Admiral  Chads  said  in  1845,  "  It  was  Greek  meet 
Greek,  for  we  were  of  the  same  blood  after  all." 
The  Americans  put  better  ships  under  their  men 
and  trained  them  to  their  duties  more  carefully,  for 
they  had  more  at  stake.  The  case  is  stated  with 
out  bias  by  the  French  Admiral,  Jurien  de  la 
Graviere,  in  his  "  Guerres  Maritimes,"  from  which 
the  following  quotation  has  been  taken :  "  When 
the  American  Congress  declared  war  on  England 
in  1812,  it  seemed  as  if  this  unequal  conflict  would 
crush  her  navy  in  the  act  of  being  born  ;  instead 
it  but  fertilized  the  germ.  It  is  only  since  that 
epoch  that  the  United  States  has  taken  rank 
among  the  maritime  powers.  Some  combats  of 
frigates,  corvettes,  and  brigs,  insignificant  without 
doubt  as  regards  material  results,  sufficed  to  break 
the  charms  which  protected  the  standard  of  St. 
George,  and  taught  Europe  what  she  should  have 
already  learned  from  some  of  our  combats,  if  the 
louder  noise  of  our  defeats  had  not  drowned  the 
glory,  that  the  only  invincibles  upon  the  sea  are 
good  seamen  and  good  artillerists.  This  war 
should  be  studied  with  unceasing  diligence;  the 
pride  of  two  peoples  to  whom  naval  affairs  are  too 
generally  familiar  has  cleared  all  the  details  and 
laid  bare  all  the  episodes,  and  through  the  sneers 
which  the  victors  should  have  spared,  merely  out 
of  care  for  their  own  glory,  at  every  step  can  be 


250  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION 

seen  with  more  truth  that  there  is  only  success  for 
those  who  know  how  to  prepare  it."  "  The  Amer 
icans  showed  in  the  War  of  1812  a  great  deal  of 
skill  and  resolution.  But  if,  as  they  have  asserted, 
the  chances  had  always  been  perfectly  equal  be 
tween  them  and  their  adversaries,  if  they  had  only 
owed  their  triumphs  to  the  intrepidity  of  Hull, 
Decatur  and  Bainbridge,  there  would  be  for  us  but 
little  interest  in  recalling  the  struggle.  We  need 
not  seek  lessons  in  courage  outside  of  our  own  his 
tory.  On  the  contrary,  what  is  to  be  well  consid 
ered  is  that  the  ships  of  the  United  States  con 
stantly  fought  with  the  chances  in  their  favor,  and 
it  is  on  this  that  the  American  government  should 
found  its  true  title  to  glory."  "  Nor  was  the  skill 
of  their  gunners  the  only  cause  to  which  the  Amer 
icans  owed  their  success.  Their  ships  were  faster ; 
the  crews  composed  of  chosen  men  manoeuvred 
with  unanimity  and  precision ;  their  captains  had 
that  practical  knowledge  which  is  only  to  be  ac 
quired  by  long  experience  of  the  sea ;  and  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  Constitution,  when 
chased  during  three  days  by  a  squadron  of  five 
English  frigates,  succeeded  in  escaping  by  sur 
passing  them  in  manoeuvring  and  by  availing 
herself  of  every  ingenious  resource  and  skillful 
expedient  that  maritime  science  could  suggest." 
If  to  the  above  it  be  added  that  the  American 


WHAT  WE  OWE  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION    251 

ships  were  employed  against  an  enormous  navy  in 
toxicated  with  success  and  careless  of  preparation 
against  its  puny  antagonist,  we  have  the  whole 
story  of  the  maritime  war  of  1812  and  the  Consti 
tution's  claim  to  greatness. 

The  period  of  the  old  frigate's  triumphs  is  thus 
confined  to  twelve  years,  and  we  find  her  pursuing 
the  ordinary  duties  of  peace  during  the  long  life 
which  followed.  She  took  no  part  in  the  war  with 
Mexico.  She  carried  our  flag  with  dignity  and 
honor  until  our  navy  was  made  up  of  steamers. 
Her  last  cruise  as  a  fighting-ship  in  the  inglorious 
task  of  suppressing  the  slave  trade  connects  her  in 
a  way  with  the  Rebellion,  whose  success  would 
have  rendered  her  services  vain.  In  these  days, 
when  machinery  is  fast  replacing  sails  and  man 
has  become  independent  of  wind  and  tide,  our 
country  can  well  afford  to  preserve  the  old  ship  as 
the  home  of  departed  glory. 


INDEX 


ACASTA,  British  frigate,  210. 

Action,  preparation  for,  17. 

Adams,  Elijah,  story  of  cap 
ture  by  Guerriere,  166,  167. 

Adams,  frigate,  built  by  public 
subscription,  33  ;  at  Gibraltar, 
75. 

Africa,  British  line-of-battle- 
ship,  146. 

Agent  of  Marine,  report  on  navy 
in  1783,  25. 

Alexis,  Lewis,  70. 

Algiers  :  U.  S.  vessels  captured, 
26  ;  U.  S.  policy  in  regard  to 
captives,  27  ;  Washington's 
message,  28  ;  truce  with  Por 
tugal,  30 ;  U.  S.  vessels  cap 
tured,  31 ;  cost  of  treaty,  50  ; 
Bainbridge  ordered  to  Con 
stantinople  by  Dey,  72  ; 
trouble  renewed,  216. 

Alliance,  frigate,  24,  25. 

Alwyn,  John  C.,  sailing-master, 
143  ;  wounded,  161 ;  lieuten 
ant,  176  ;  dies  of  wounds,  185. 

Amazon,  H.  M.  S.,  87. 

America,  line  -  of  -  battle  -  ship, 
presented  to  France,  25. 

Amory,  Lieutenant,  67. 

^olus,  British  frigate,  147. 

Argus,  brig,  at  Gibraltar,  75 ;  at 
Syracuse,  87. 


Armament,  underrating  of  Brit 
ish  and  U.  S.  frigates,  6. 

Armstrong,  John  D.,  surgeon's 
mate,  143,  176. 

Atlantic,  map,  146. 

Badger,  O.  C.,  commands  Con 
stitution,  238. 

Bainbridge,  William,  receives 
orders  from  Dey  of  Algiers, 
72  ;  portrait,  72  ;  commands 
Philadelphia,  75  ;  captures 
Moorish  cruiser,  84 ;  sur 
renders  Philadelphia,  89  ; 
commands  Constitution,  175; 
medal  awarded  him,  picture 
of,  198  ;  commands  expedition 
against  Algiers,  216. 

Baker,  F.  H.,  commands  Con 
stitution,  239. 

Baldwin,  Thomas,  midshipman, 
70. 

Ballard,  Henry,  lieutenant, 
196 ;  takes  possession  of 
Levant,  203. 

Baltimore,  sloop,  sailors  re 
moved  by  British,  66. 

Barbary  States  discover  U.  S. 
flag,  26. 

Barron,  Samuel,  succeeds  Preble 
at  Tripoli,  115. 

Barry,  John,  commodore,  60. 


254 


INDEX 


Bastard,  Captain,  146. 
Baury,  Frederick,  midshipman, 
143,  176. 

Beale,  Richard  C.,  lieutenant, 
59. 

Beatty,  Thomas  A.,  midship 
man,  143,  176. 

Beecher,  L.  S..  carves  figure  of 
Andrew  Jackson,  221. 

Belcher,  John  A.,  midshipman, 
143,  176. 

Belvidera,  British  frigate, 
chased  by  President,  144  ;  use 
of  kedge,  149. 

Bentley,  Samuel,  hoists  the  first 
flag  on  the  Constitution,  59. 

Berkeley,  Vice-Admiral,  order 
to  search  Chesapeake  for  de 
serters,  123. 

Betsy,  brig,  168. 

Billet,  picture  of,  222. 

Boarding,  16. 

Bolton,  W.  C.,  commands  Con 
stitution,  233. 

Bonne  Citoyenne,  British  ship, 
and  Hornet,  176. 

Broke,  Captain,  sends  challenge 
to  Captain  Lawrence,  141. 

Burrows,  William,  midshipman, 
70. 

Bush,  William  T.,  lieutenant 
of  marines,  143  ;  killed,  161. 

Byron.  Captain,  letter,  152,  153. 

Byron,  Lord,  visits  Constitution, 
217. 

Caldwell,  James  R.,  killed,  106. 
Campbell,  Hugh  G.,  commands 

Constitution,  120. 
Cape  Race,  156. 
Captives,  American,  in  Algiers, 

26,  27. 


Carey,  Richard,  midshipman,  70. 

Carleton,  John,  chaplain,  176. 

Carmick,  Captain,  67. 

Carronade,  13,  14 ;  picture  of, 
20. 

Castine,  fortifications,  77. 

Chads,  Henry,  D.,  lieutenant  of 
Java,  184  ;  offers  medical  as 
sistance  to  Constitution  in 
China,  187. 

Charleston,  British  ship,  de 
stroyed  by  French,  54. 

Chauncey,  Captain,  commands 
John  Adams,  110. 

Cheever,  John,  186. 

Chesapeake,  frigate,  authorized, 
32 ;  attacked  by  Leopard,  123, 
124. 

Chew,  Thomas  J.,  purser,  143. 

Claghorn,  George,  naval  con 
structor,  48. 

Clark,  Lemuel,  lieutenant  of 
marines,  59. 

Claxton,  Commodore,  commands 
Constitution,  229;  dies  on 
board,  230. 

Clearing  ship  for  action,  17. 

Cochrane,  Sir  Thomas,  squadron 
of,  asks  supplies  of  Constitu 
tion,  233. 

Coggeshall's  "  American  Priva 
teers,"  168. 

Collier,  Sir  George  Ralph,  com 
mands  British  squadron,  209, 
210. 

Columbiad,  14. 

Congress,  frigate,  authorized, 
32 ;  dismasted,  41. 

Constellation,  frigate,  launch, 
55  ;  in  War  of  Reprisal,  61  ; 
shut  up  in  Norfolk,  216. 

Constitution,  frigate,  picture  of, 


INDEX 


255 


frontispiece ;  carronade  from, 
picture  of,  20 ;  authorized, 
32  ;  model,  38,  picture  of,  44  ; 
performance,  39 ;  batteries, 
43,  44  ;  sail-plan,  picture  of, 
52  ;  first  launch  a  failure,  56 ; 
ready  for  launching-,  picture 
of,  58 ;  successful  launch, 
58,  picture  of,  64 ;  at  sea  for 
first  time,  60  ;  race  with  Brit 
ish  ship,  65 ;  Edward  Preble 
commands,  69 ;  arrives  at 
Gibraltar,  75;  at  Syracuse, 
87 ;  berth-deck,  gun-deck, 
ward-room,  views  of,  88 ;  in 
war  with  Tripoli,  87-117; 
compared  with  British  frig 
ates,  136-138;  meets  British 
fleet  off  New  Jersey,  145 ; 
location  of  battles,  147 ; 
chase,  147-153,  diagram  of, 
148  ;  use  of  kedge,  148 ;  action 
with  Guerriere,  158-163,  pic 
tures  of,  156,  162,  170;  dia 
gram  of,  159  ;  action  with 
Java,  181-184,  pictures  of, 
186,  194,  diagram  of,  179; 
at  Singapore,  187;  escapes 
from  British  ships  into 
Marblehead,  191-193,  dia 
gram  of,  191  ;  action  with 
Cyane  and  Levant,  199-201, 
diagram  of,  199 ;  escapes  from 
British  fleet  at  Port  Praya, 
210-212,  diagram  of,  211 ;  re 
built,  220 ;  figureheads,  pic 
tures  of,  222 ;  aids  British 
ships,  233;  at  Naval  Acad 
emy,  234  ;  rebuilt,  237  ;  hun 
dredth  anniversary  of  launch, 
239;  at  Boston  Navy  Yard, 
1900,  views  of,  236,  240,  242  ; 


plan  to  restore,  240 ;  compared 
with  Monitor,  241-242. 

Contee,  John,  lieutenant  of  ma 
rines,  143,  176. 

Cooper,  James  Fenimore,  story 
of  sailor  supposed  to  be 
killed,  205,  206. 

Corsair,  picture  of,  119. 

Crane,  William  M.,  prisoner  on 
British  ship,  153. 

Crescent,  frigate,  sails  for  Al 
giers,  71. 

Crews,  overcrowding  on  sailing- 
vessels,  18  ;  disease  on  sailing- 
vessels,  19  ;  fixed  by  Congress, 
45. 

Cross,  Joseph,  midshipman,  143, 
176. 

Cummings,  John  C.,  midship 
man,  176. 

Curtis,  Sir  Roger,  128. 

Cyane,  British  frigate,  action 
with  Constitution,  199-201, 
diagram  of,  199 ;  surrenders, 
202;  arrives  New  York,  213. 

Cyane  and  Levant,  batteries  of, 
compared  with  those  of  Con 
stitution,  204. 

Dacres,  James  R.,  commands 
Guerriere,  145  ;  surrenders  to 
Hull,  162  ;  challenge  to  U.  S. 
frigates,  165 ;  visits  Constitu 
tion  at  Malta,  215. 

Dale,  Richard,  commands  squad 
ron  in  Mediterranean,  74. 

Davis,  John,  midshipman,  70. 

Deacon,  David,  midshipman,  70. 

Decatur,  Stephen,  commands 
Enterprise,  75 ;  burns  the 
Philadelphia,  94 ;  saved  by  a 
seaman,  105 ;  transferred  to 


256 


INDEX 


Constitution,  116;  commands 
ten  ships  against  Algiers,  216. 

Decatur,  privateer,  157. 

Deck-plan  of  a  ship  on  star 
board  tack,  23. 

Dent,  John  H.,  lieutenant,  70. 

Dewey,  George,  commands  Con 
stitution,  236. 

Dewey,  Samuel  W.,  mutilates 
figurehead  of  Constitution, 
225. 

Dexter,  Daniel  S.,  midshipman, 
70. 

Dghies,  Sidi  Mahomet,  minister 
of  Dey  of  Algiers,  118. 

Diagrams  and  maps  :  deck-plan 
of  a  ship  on  starboard  tack, 
23 ;  Mediterranean  ports,  87  ; 
Tripoli  Harbor,  97;  location  of 
battles,  147  ;  action,  Constitu 
tion  and  Guerriere,  159  ;  Con- 
titution  and  Java,  179  ;  chase 
into  Marblehead  Harbor,  191 ; 
action,  Constitution,  Cyane, 
and  Levant,  199 ;  escape  at 
Port  Praya,  211. 

Diet  in  the  U.  S.  Navy,  19,  20. 

Directory,  French,  54. 

Donnegal,  H.  M.  S.,  79. 

Dorsey,  John,  killed,  106. 

Douglas,  George,  the  Honorable, 
commands  Levant,  199,  202  ; 
surrenders  to  Stewart,  203. 

Douglass,  Sir  Howard,  naval 
gunnery,  136. 

Dulany,  James  W.,  midship 
man,  143,  176. 

Dimdonald.  Lord,  on  treatment 
of  British  seamen,  21. 

Eaton,  General,  on  loss  of  In 
trepid,  114. 


Elbert,  Samuel,  lieutenant,  70. 

Elliott,  Jesse  D.,  abuse  of,  222  ; 
figurehead  of  Constitution, 
221-227 ;  court-martialed, 
229. 

Emmons,  "  Statistical  History," 
38. 

Enlistment  of  sailors,  22. 

Enterprise,  schooner,  captures 
corsair,  74  ;  at  Gibraltar,  75. 

Eskridge,  Alexander,  midship 
man,  143,  176. 

Essex,  frigate,  177. 

Evans,  'Amos  A.,  surgeon,  143, 
176. 

Exchange  Coffee-House,  notice 
by  Captain  Hull,  154. 

Falcon,  Gordon  Thomas,  com 
mands  Cyane,  199,  201 ;  sur 
renders  to  Stewart,  202. 

Field,  Ambrose  D.,  midship 
man,  143,  176. 

Figurehead,  Andrew  Jackson, 
221-227  ;  picture  of,  222. 

Flag,  II.  S.,  first  on  the  Consti 
tution,  59. 

Foreigners  in  Navy,  82. 

Forrest,  Dulaney,  midshipman, 
176. 

France,  treaty  with,  69. 

Freeman,  William  H.,  lieuten 
ant  of  marines,  176. 

French,  William,  77. 

Frigates :  as  cruisers,  4 ;  descrip 
tion  of,  5,  6  ;  section  of  a 
frigate,  illustration  of,  38  ; 
dimensions  of  British  38-gun, 
40 ;  British,  modeled  after 
U.  S.  ships,  43 ;  delay  in 
building,  50. 

Frolic,  British  sloop,  10. 


INDEX 


257 


Gadsen,  Christopher,  midship 
man,  70. 

George  Washington,  frigate,  72, 
73. 

German,  Lewis,  midshipman, 
143,  176. 

Ghent,  Treaty  of,  197. 

Gilliam,  Henry,  midshipman, 
143. 

Goldsborough,  "  Naval  Chron 
icle,"  45. 

Gordon,  Charles,  lieutenant,  70. 

Gordon,  William  L.,  midship 
man,  143,  176. 

Granary  Building,  sails  of  Con 
stitution,  49. 

Graviere,  Jurien  de  la,  249. 

Great  Britain,  war  declared 
against,  132 ;  preponderance 
upon  the  seas,  135. 

Greenlaw,  James,  midshipman, 
143,  176. 

Griffin,  Allen,  midshipman,  143. 

Grog,  21. 

Guerriere,  British  frigate,  action 
with  Constitution,  158-163, 
diagram  of,  159,  pictures  of, 
156,  162,  170;  surrenders, 
162  ;  destroyed  by  explosion, 
165. 

Guns,  training  and  handling,  9  ; 
pictures  of,  30 ;  sights,  10 ; 
firing,  12 ;  dimensions,  13 ; 
long,  13,  14 ;  types,  13,  pic 
tures  of,  20 ;  captured  by 
Constitution,  215. 

Gun-drill,  pictures  of,  30. 

Gwynn,  John,  commands  Con 
stitution,  233. 

Hall,  Francis  C.,  midshipman, 
70. 


Haraden,  Nathaniel,  master,  70 ; 
repairs  Constitution,  131. 

Harris,  Isaac,  builds  masts  for 
the  Constitution,  49. 

Hartford,  U.  S.  steam  sloop,  33. 

Hartley,  assistant  to  Colonel 
Claghorn,  48. 

Hartt,  Edmund,  builder  of  Con 
stitution,  48. 

Hartt's  Naval  Yard,  48. 

Haswell,  John  M.,  midshipman, 
70. 

Havannah,  British  frigate,  de 
serter  from,  128. 

Haymarket  Theatre,  "  The 
Launch  of  the  Constitution," 
57. 

Henderson,  Archibald,  captain 
of  marines,  197. 

Henley,  Robert,  midshipman, 
70,  105. 

Hercules,  statue  of,  first  figure 
head  of  Constitution,  221. 

Hislop,  Lieutenant-General,  185. 

Hixon,  Samuel  C.,  sailing-mas 
ter,  197. 

Hodgkinson,  John,  57. 

Hoffman,  Lieutenant  Beekman 
V.,  143, 176, 196 ;  sent  on  board 
Cyane,  202 ;  brings  home  Le 
vant,  213. 

Hogan,  Daniel,  171. 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  public 
sentiment  aroused  by  poem, 
219,  220. 

Hornet,  sloop,  and  the  Bonne 
Citoyenne,  178. 

Howitzer,  brass,  captured  from 
Tripoli,  picture  of,  20. 

Hull,  Isaac,  lieutenant,  59 ;  cuts 
out  Sandwich,  66  ;  commands 
Argus,  75 ;  commands  Con- 


258 


INDEX 


stitution,  125  ;  portrait,  140  ; 
leaves  Boston  without  orders, 
155 ;  receives  surrender  of 
Guerriere,  1 62  ;  medal  award 
ed,  picture  of,  174  ;  dinner  in 
Boston,  lt3. 

Humble,  James,  186. 

Humphreys,  David,  minister  to 
Portugal,  29  ;  negotiates  with 
Algiers,  30  ;  obtains  a  treaty, 
50. 

Humphreys,  Joshua,  makes 
plans  for  new  ships,  32 ;  ap 
pointed  naval  constructor,  33 ; 
letter  to  Robert  Morris,  34- 
37;  design  of  ships,  41;  ap 
proves  heavy  batteries,  43 ; 
report  on  progress  of  ships, 
49. 

Hunnewell,  Leonard,  midship 
man,  70. 

Hunter,  William  M.,  lieuten 
ant,  197, 

Impressment  of  seamen,  82, 138 ; 
not  mentioned  in  treaty,  214. 

Independence,  liue-of -battle 
ship,  194. 

Intrepid,  description  of,  95 ; 
blown  up,  112. 

Israel,  Joseph,  midshipman,  70  ; 
lieutenant,  111. 

Izard,  Ralph,  midshipman,  70. 

Jackson,     Andrew,     President, 

figurehead    for    Constitution, 

221,  picture  of,  222. 
Jackson,  Henry,  naval  agent  for 

Constitution,  48. 
Jamaica  fleet,  144. 
Java,  British  frigate,  captured 

from     French,     136 ;    meets 


Constitution,  180 ;  action, 
180-184,  diagram  of,  179, 
pictures  of,  186,  194;  sur 
renders,  184 ;  destroyed,  186  ; 
effect  of  loss  on  British,  189. 

Jenks,  William  C.,  lieutenant, 
70. 

John  Adams,  frigate,  at  Gib 
raltar,  75 ;  arrives  at  Tripoli, 
107. 

Johnson,  P.  C.,  commander, 
tows  Constitution  out  of 
Newport,  236. 

Jones,  Captain  Jacob,  commands 
Constitution,  216. 

Kedge,  148,  149. 

Ketch,  man-of-war,  picture  of, 

113. 
Knox,  Henry,  Secretary  of  War, 

32. 

Lambert,  Henry,  commands 
Java,  182  ;  mortally  wounded, 
17,  182. 

Lawrence,  James,  challenge 
from  British  captain,  178. 

Laws,  Alexander,  midshipman, 
70. 

Leander,  British  frigate,  210. 

Lear,  Tobias,  consul-general  to 
Barbary  States,  69 ;  conversa 
tion  with  Preble,  81 ;  landed 
at  Algiers,  87. 

Lee,  Benjamin,  lieutenant,  59. 

Levant,  British  sloop,  5  ;  action 
with  Constitution,  199-203, 
diagram  of,  199 ;  surrenders 
to  Constitution,  203 ;  recap 
tured,  214. 

Leverett,  George  H.,  midship 
man,  176. 


INDEX 


259 


Lewis,  William,  midshipman, 
70. 

Lincoln,  William,  suggests  cut 
ting  off  of  figurehead,  224. 

Line-of-battle-ships,  description, 
7  ;  picture  of,  10. 

Long,  John  C.,  midshipman, 
176. 

Lord  Nelson,  British  merchant- 
ship,  captured  by  Constitu 
tion,  197. 

Ludlow,  Robert  C.,  purser,  176. 

McCarthy,  William  D.,  midship 
man,  176. 

McCauley,  D.  S.,  consul-gen 
eral,  233. 

McCauley,  Constitution  Stewart, 
born  on  board  Constitution, 
233. 

Macdonough,  Thomas,  midship 
man,  70 ;  captain,  commands 
Constitution,  217. 

Magnifique,  French  ship  lost  in 
Boston  Harbor,  25. 

Maidstone,  H.  M.  S.,  79. 

Marine,  Massachusetts  State,  77. 

Martin,  Captain  Knott,  193. 

Mathurins  assist  in  release  of 
captives,  27. 

Mayo,  Isaac,  commodore,  com 
mands  Constitution,  234. 

Medals,  pictures  of :  Preble,  108 ; 
Hull,  174;  Bainbridge,  198, 
Stewart,  214. 

Mediterranean  ports,  map  of, 
87. 

Melville,  Lord,  135. 

Merrimac,  U.  S.  steam  sloop,  33. 

Meshouda,  Moorish  cruiser,  cap 
tured  by  Enterprise,  84. 

Minister,  French,  recalled,  53. 


Mirbofca,  Moorish  cruiser,  cap 
tured  by  Philadelphia,  84. 

Monitor,  the  forerunner  of 
modern  battleships,  43. 

Morgan,  Charles  W.,  midship 
man,  143 ;  lieutenant,  176. 

Morgan,  John  T.,  sent  to  select 
timber  for  new  frigates,  48. 

Morocco,  treaty  with,  51,  85 ; 
broken  by  EmpeTor,  84. 

Morris,  Charles,  experience  in 
the  Congress,  41 ;  midship 
man,  70 ;  incident  connected 
with  Preble,  78,  79 ;  portrait, 
130 ;  lieutenant,  wounded, 
161. 

Morris,  Robert,  letter  from  Mr. 
Humphreys  to,  35. 

Morris,  R.  V.,  commands  squad 
ron  in  Mediterranean,  74. 

Nautilus,  brig,  captured  by 
British,  153. 

Nautilus,  schooner,  at  Gibraltar, 
75. 

Naval  Armament  provided,  32. 

"Naval  Chronicle,"  45. 

Naval  Yard,  Hartt's,  48. 

Navy,  Continental,  sold,  24; 
methods  of  constructing  ships, 
47  ;  lack  of  system,  61 ; 
foolish  policy  of  government 
toward,  121;  inactivity  of, 
218 ;  incidents  of  old,  232. 

Navy  Department  established, 
54. 

Nelson,  Lord,  his  definition  of 
a  frigate,  4;  killed  by  a 
shot  from  the  top,  17 ;  his 
opinion  of  U.  S.  squadron, 
23;  his  opinion  of  Decatur's 
act,  98. 


260 


INDEX 


Neptune,  figure  of,  figurehead 
of  Constitution,  221. 

Neutrality,  violation  of  U.  S., 
52,  53. 

New  York,  frigate,  at  Gibraltar, 
75. 

Newcastle,  British  frigate,  210. 

Nichols,  John,  sailing-master, 
176. 

Nicholson,  James,  midshipman, 
70. 

Nicholson,  Samuel,  inspector  of 
Constitution,  48  ;  disappointed 
in  connection  with  first  flag, 
59  ;  in  command,  60. 

Nissen,  Nicholas,  assists  Amer 
icans'  correspondence,  94. 

Nixon,  Z.  W.,  midshipman,  176. 

O'Brien,  Richard,  captive  in 
Algiers,  31 ;  consul-general 
to  the  Barbary  States,  72. 

Oak,  Constitution,  48. 

Officers,  appointments  and  pro 
motion,  62  ;  grades,  63 ;  re 
duction  of  numbers,  63. 

"  Old  Ironsides,"  41,  164 ;  popu 
larity  of,  190 ;  condemned  by 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  218; 
toasted  by  British  officers, 
233. 

Ordnance  of  1800,  picture  of,  20. 

Orne,  William  B.,  journal,  168- 
170. 

Packett,  John,  midshipman,  176. 
Parker,    Foxhall,    A.,   captain, 

commands  Constitution,  230. 
Parker,      George,       lieutenant, 

176. 
Patterson,    Daniel    T.,  captain, 

commands  Constitution,  217. 


Pay  of  navy,  46. 

Percival,  John,  captain,  com 
mands  Constitution,  230 ; 
events  in  life  of,  231. 

Philadelphia,  frigate,  at  Gibral 
tar,  75 ;  loss  of,  88  ;  crew  of, 
employed  on  Tripolitan  forti 
fications,  93 ;  difficulty  of  ap 
proaching,  96,  97 ;  attack  on 
and  burning  of,  97,  98,  99. 

Pickering,  revenue  vessel,  77. 

Port  Praya,  escape  of  Constitu 
tion  at,  diagram  of,  211. 

Porter,  David,  good  health  of 
his  crew,  21 ;  his  cruise  in  the 
Pacific,  177. 

Porter,  David  D.,  lieutenant- 
commander,  234. 

Porto  Plata,  66. 

Portugal,  convoy  for  U.  S.  ships, 
30. 

Powder,  handing  up,  illustra 
tion  of,  161. 

Preble,  Edward,  commands  Con 
stitution,  69 ;  fleet  the  nursery 
of  the  Navy,  76;  life  of, 
77;  portrait,  80;  inadequate 
means  for  war  on  Tripoli,  81 ; 
secures  Straits  of  Gibraltar, 
84 ;  letter  to  consul  at  Tan 
gier,  86  ;  letter  to  Bainbridge, 
89;  and  Decatur,  story  of, 
104;  medal  awarded,  picture 
of,  108;  bombards  Tripoli, 
108  ;  leaves  Constitution,  116. 

President,  frigate,  authorized, 
32  ;  chases  Belvidera,  144. 

Protector,  26-gun  ship,  77. 

Raking,  12. 

Range,  estimate  of,  15,  16. 

Read,    George    C.,    lieutenant, 


INDEX 


261 


143,  162,  165;  takes  posses 
sion  of  the  Guerriere,  162 ; 
commands  Constitution,  217. 

Reed,  Heatheote  J.,  midship 
man,  70. 

Reed,  William,  lieutenant  of 
marines,  59. 

Reprisals,  against  French,  60. 

Revenue  cutters,  60. 

Revere,  Paul,  supplies  copper 
for  Constitution,  49. 

Robinson,  Thomas,  lieutenant, 
70. 

Ridgely,  Charles  G.,  midship 
man,  70. 

Rodgers,  George  W.,  lieuten 
ant-commander,  takes  Con 
stitution  out  of  roads,  235. 

Rodgers,  John,  commands 
squadron,  14 ;  and  in  Mediter 
ranean,  74 ;  waives  seniority 
at  Tangier,  85 ;  calls  for 
volunteers  to  meet  British, 
175. 

Rowe,  John,  midshipman,  70. 

Rudd,  John,  captain,  commands 
Constitution,  234. 

Russell,  Charles,  first  lieu 
tenant,  59. 

Sailors,  foreigners  in  the  U.  S. 
Navy,  22  ;  American,  suffer 
ing  in  West  Indies,  53  ;  Brit 
ish  and  American,  unfriendli 
ness  of,  206,  207. 

Sally,  sloop,  67. 

Salter,  William  D.,  midshipman, 
143. 

Salvadore,  Catalano,  sailing- 
master,  95. 

Sandwich,  French  letter  -  of- 
marque,  captured,  66. 


Sawyer,  Vice-Admiral,  165. 

Seamen,  enlistment  of,  63. 

Secretary  of  War,  report  on 
frigates,  51. 

Sever,  James,  christens  Con 
stitution,  58. 

Shannon,  British  frigate,  147. 

Shepard,  E.  U.,  commander, 
commands  Constitution,  239. 

Shot,  variable  weight  of,  15. 

Shubrick,  John  T.,  lieutenant, 
143,  176. 

Shubrick,  William  B.,  lieuten 
ant,  197,  208. 

Siren,  brig,  at  Gibraltar,  75; 
convoy  of  Intrepid,  95,  96. 

Skillings  Brothers,  carvers  of 
figurehead,  49. 

Sloop,  description,  5. 

Sloop-of-war,  picture  of,  4. 

Sloop-of-war,  illustration  of  sec 
tion  of,  38. 

Smith,  John,  commands  Vixen, 
75. 

Somers,  Richard,  commands 
Nautilus,  75  ;  killed  at  Trip 
oli,  112. 

Spence,  Robert  T.,  midship 
man,  bravery  in  action,  106. 

Splinters,  15. 

Squadrons,  U.  S.,  to  patrol  the 
coast,  60. 

Stanton,  O.  F.,  captain,  com 
mands  Constitution,  239. 

Stevens,  B.  F.,  187. 

Stewart,  Charles,  commands  Si 
ren,  75  ;  commands  Consti 
tution,  190  ;  destroys  Pictou, 
190;  learns  of  Treaty  of 
Ghent,  197 ;  captures  Cyane 
and  Levant,  199-202;  por 
trait,  204  ;  saves  Constitution 


INDEX 


from  capture,  208-212 ; 
medal  awarded  him,  picture 
of,  214  ;  arrives  in  New  York, 
213. 

Stoddert,  Benjamin,  first  Secre 
tary  of  the  Navy,  54. 

Strahan,  Sir  Richard,  79. 

Syracuse,  port  of  deposit,  83. 

Talbot,  Silas,  in  command  of 
Constitution,  61 ;  report  on 
capture  of  Sandwich,  66. 

Tarbell,  Joseph,  lieutenant,  70. 

Tayloe,  John,  midshipman,  143. 

Taylor,  William  V.,  midship 
man,  143,  176;  lieutenant, 
197;  scuttles  the  Lord  Nel 
son,  197. 

Thayer,  Edmund,  builds  gun- 
carriages  of  Constitution,  48. 

Thompson,  John,  midshipman, 
70. 

Toasts  to  the  Navy,  173. 

Tonnage  measurement,  8. 

Townsend,  Captain,  147. 

Treatment  of  men  in  U.  S. 
Navy,  21. 

Tribute  to  Barbary  States,  28. 

Tripoli,  crowded  with  slaves, 
28 ;  cupidity  of,  aroused  by 
treaty  with  Algiers,  71 ;  letter 
from  Dey  to  President  Adams, 
73 ;  American  flagstaff  cut 
down,  74 ;  officers  under 
Preble  at,  80  ;  coast  unfavor 
able  to  blockade,  83  ;  declared 
in  state  of  blockade,  86; 
harbor  of,  diagram,  97 ;  for 
midable  defenses  of,  101 ;  at 
tacks,  first,  102 ;  second,  106  ; 
third,  108  ;  fourth,  109  ;  fifth, 
110 ;  sketch  of  fortifications 


at,  111;  attack  on  fortifica 
tions,  picture  of,  100 ;  treaty, 
117. 

Trippe,  John,  lieutenant,  105. 

Tunis,  crowded  with  slaves,  28 ; 
Dey  demands  gifts,  74; 
treaty  signed  at,  120. 

Turner,  Daniel,  commands  Con 
stitution,  229. 

United  States,  frigate,  author 
ized,  32;  at  Gibraltar,  75; 
shut  up  in  New  London,  193  ; 
seized  at  Norfolk,  235. 

Vallette,  Elia  A.  F.,  commands 

Constitution,  217. 
Virginia,  State,  arms  two  vessels, 

25. 
Vixen,   schooner,   at   Gibraltar, 

75 ;  out  of  provisions,  91. 

Wadsworth,  Alexander  S., 
Lieutenant,  143. 

Wadsworth,Henry,  midshipman, 
70;  sketch  by,  111;  lieuten 
ant,  111  ;  killed,  112. 

War  of  1812,  132. 

War  of  reprisal  against  France, 
55. 

War  vessels,  illustrations  of,  sec 
tions  of,  38. 

Ward,  Henry,  midshipman,  176. 

Wasp,  U.  S.  sloop,  10. 

Washington,  President,  report 
on  Algiers,  28  ;  authorizes 
the  building  of  six  ships,  32  ; 
fundamental  reasons  for  build 
ing  a  navy,  52. 

Weather  gauge,  11. 

West  Indies,  suffering  of  Ameri 
can  sailors,  53. 


INDEX 


263 


Wharf,  Constitution,  48. 

Williams,  J.  F.,  77. 

Winter,   Richard,   midshipman, 

176 ;  lieutenant,  197. 
Winthrop,  ship,  77. 


Wish,    John    A.,    midshipman, 
176. 

Yeates,    Donaldson,     surgeon's 
mate,  143. 


Elfctrotyped  and  printed  by  H.  O.  Houghton  &  Co. 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  U.S.  A. 


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